Abstract
This study attempted to determine short-term responses to drought and salt stress in different Silene vulgaris genotypes and to identify potential abiotic stress biochemical indicators in this species. Four populations from contrasting habitats were subjected to drought and three levels of salinity under controlled greenhouse conditions. The determination of several growth parameters after the stress treatments allowed for ranking the tolerance to stress of the four analyzed populations on the basis of their relative degree of stress-induced growth inhibition. This was then correlated with changes in the leaf levels of monovalent ions (Na+, Cl−, and K+), photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls a and b, carotenoids), osmolytes (total soluble sugars, proline), and non-enzymatic antioxidants (total phenolic compounds and flavonoids). Despite the observed differences, all four populations appeared to be relatively tolerant to both stress conditions, which in general did not cause a significant degradation of photosynthetic pigments and did not generate oxidative stress in the plants. Drought and salinity tolerance in S. vulgaris was mostly dependent on the use of Na+ and K+ for osmotic adjustment under stress, a mechanism that appeared to be constitutive, and not stress-induced, since relatively high concentrations of these cations (without reaching toxic levels) were also present in the leaves of control plants. The inhibition of additional transportation of toxic ions to the leaves, in response to increasing external salinity, seemed to be a relevant mechanism of tolerance, specifically to salt stress, whereas accumulation of soluble sugars under drought conditions may have contributed to tolerance to drought.
Highlights
Abiotic stresses are known to reduce plantsvegetative growth and reproductive success by decreasing the energy generated from photosynthesis and diverting resources and metabolic precursors from primary metabolism and biomass accumulation toward activation of the stress response mechanism [1]
Most studies on abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms have been conducted in model plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, or in some major crops, which are relatively sensitive to stress [17,18,19]
Our recent studies have shown that species belonging to the Silene genus exhibit considerable interspecific variation in salinity and drought tolerance, and we have demonstrated a relatively elevated salt tolerance in S. vulgaris due to blocking of Na+ transport to the shoots
Summary
Abiotic stresses are known to reduce plantsvegetative growth and reproductive success by decreasing the energy generated from photosynthesis and diverting resources and metabolic precursors from primary metabolism and biomass accumulation toward activation of the stress response mechanism [1] These stresses include cold, heat, and alkalinity, among others: drought and soil salinity are the environmental factors with the strongest negative impact on crop productivity worldwide and largely determine the distribution of wild plant species in nature [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. Some of these studies have found differences in the efficiency of stress responses in closely related species, or in different cultivars, ecotypes, or even individual populations of the same species [20]
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