Abstract
Climate change poses a serious threat to agricultural production. Water deficit in agricultural soils is one of the consequences of climate change that has a negative impact on crop growth and yield. Selenium (Se) is known to be involved in plant defense against biotic and abiotic stress through metabolic, structural, and physiological activity in higher plants. The aim of this study was to investigate the physiological response of Se-biofortified soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) seedlings under osmotic stress. For this research, we used biofortified soybean grain obtained after foliar Se biofortification in 2020. The experiment was conducted in a growth chamber with two cultivars (Lucija and Sonja) grown on filter paper in three replicates. The experiment was carried out with two watering treatments: distilled water (PEG-0) and 2.5% polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG-2.5) on Se-biofortified seeds (Se) and nonbiofortified seeds (wSe). Contents of lipid peroxidation product (LP), free proline (PRO), total phenolic content (TP), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and ascorbic acid (AA) were analyzed in 7-days-old seedlings. Significant differences were detected in the Se content of soybean grains between the two cultivars. A milder reaction to PEG-2.5 was observed in cultivar Lucija in both Se and wSe treatments, which might represent the mitigating effects of Se on osmotic stress in this cultivar. Contrarily, in cultivar Sonja, Se adversely affected all analyzed traits in the PEG-2.5 treatment. Ultimately, Se is a pro-oxidant in Sonja, whereas it represents an anti-oxidant in Lucija. In conclusion, different soybean cultivars show contrasting physiological reactions to both osmotic stress and Se. However, the activation of antioxidant pathways in Sonja can also be interpreted as added value in soybean seedlings as a functional food.
Highlights
Agricultural land is affected with a varying severity of drought, which has become a worldwide problem
From our results, it can be seen that the Se biofortification of soybean seeds could help mitigate the effect of water deficit in Lucija
High concentrations of lipid peroxidation product (LP), PRO, total phenolic content (TP), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and ascorbic acid (AA) suggest that Sonja with Se had a stronger defense mechanism than Lucija in both PEG-0 and PEG-2.5 treatments
Summary
Agricultural land is affected with a varying severity of drought, which has become a worldwide problem. Extreme temperatures, and low atmospheric humidity lead to drought, which is one of the most limiting factors for better plant performance and higher agricultural yields [1,2]. Moisture supply, and other environmental factors influence seed size and seed weight in all crop species [6]. Soybean is one of the most commonly consumed legumes worldwide, with 200 million metric tons produced per year [8] and yields highly affected by water supply [9]. The typical response of plants to low soil fertility and/or chronic osmotic stress is the reduction in quantity of seeds produced rather than in their quality [6]
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