The Role of Biostimulants in Alleviating Oxidative Stress in Crop Plants

A special issue of Antioxidants (ISSN 2076-3921). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural and Synthetic Antioxidants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 April 2024 | Viewed by 4601

Special Issue Editors

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plants, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Apartado 419, E-18080 Granada, Spain
Interests: reactive oxygen species (ROS); reactive nitrogen species (RNS); plant stress
Department of Crop Production, College of Natural Sciences, University of Rzeszow, Zelwerowicza 4 St., 35-601 Rzeszow, Poland
Interests: crop production; cereal grain quality; wheat; rye; trriticale; plant nutrition; oxidative stres; plant biochemistry; photosynthesis; biostimulants

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Crop plants are exposed to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Oxidative stress results in damage to cell organelles and the cell membrane, which can ultimately lead to cell death. These processes occur due to the overproduction and accumulation of highly toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS), most often as a result of an imbalance between the production of ROS and the activity of scavengers. Consequently, metabolism is disrupted, leading to a weakening of the plants, consequently affecting their productivity. Nowadays, in plant cultivation, the aim is to reduce the use of chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides) and look for environmentally friendly products to promote their growth and development and increase productivity. One of the solutions aimed at providing plants with the most favorable conditions for growth and development is using biostimulators, which are an alternative to synthetic fertilizers and plant protection products. Biostimulants can be made from seaweeds, humic substances, protein hydrolysates, and microorganisms. In addition, there is an increasing emphasis on producing agents that exhibit low toxicity to humans and animals. Biostimulation has a regulating and modifying effect on the course of physiological processes occurring in plants. They also stimulate their growth and alleviate disorders caused by environmental stresses to which plants are exposed. Biostimulation affects the basic processes and defense mechanisms in plants, enabling them to maintain homeostasis to ensure their adaptation to changing environmental conditions. This makes them safer for the environment and contributes to sustainable crop production. The current Special Issue aims to gather both original and review articles that describe recent advances in the use of biostimulants in crop plants exposed to oxidative stress.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Negative effects of environmental stresses on crops;
  • Mechanism of action of biostimulants in plant cultivation;
  • Alleviating the effects of stress.

Dr. María C. Romero-Puertas
Guest Editor

Dr. Marta Jańczak-Pieniążek
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • biotic and abiotic stress
  • oxidative stress
  • ROS
  • plant biostimulants
  • crop plants
  • antioxidant mechanisms

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 11706 KiB  
Article
Physiological and Transcriptome Analysis of the Effects of Exogenous Strigolactones on Drought Responses of Pepper Seedlings
by Huangying Shu, Muhammad Ahsan Altaf, Naveed Mushtaq, Huizhen Fu, Xu Lu, Guopeng Zhu, Shanhan Cheng and Zhiwei Wang
Antioxidants 2023, 12(12), 2019; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox12122019 - 21 Nov 2023
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Abstract
Drought stress significantly restricts the growth, yield, and quality of peppers. Strigolactone (SL), a relatively new plant hormone, has shown promise in alleviating drought-related symptoms in pepper plants. However, there is limited knowledge on how SL affects the gene expression in peppers when [...] Read more.
Drought stress significantly restricts the growth, yield, and quality of peppers. Strigolactone (SL), a relatively new plant hormone, has shown promise in alleviating drought-related symptoms in pepper plants. However, there is limited knowledge on how SL affects the gene expression in peppers when exposed to drought stress (DS) after the foliar application of SL. To explore this, we conducted a thorough physiological and transcriptome analysis investigation to uncover the mechanisms through which SL mitigates the effects of DS on pepper seedlings. DS inhibited the growth of pepper seedlings, altered antioxidant enzyme activity, reduced relative water content (RWC), and caused oxidative damage. On the contrary, the application of SL significantly enhanced RWC, promoted root morphology, and increased leaf pigment content. SL also protected pepper seedlings from drought-induced oxidative damage by reducing MDA and H2O2 levels and maintaining POD, CAT, and SOD activity. Moreover, transcriptomic analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes were enriched in ribosomes, ABC transporters, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and Auxin/MAPK signaling pathways in DS and DS + SL treatment. Furthermore, the results of qRT-PCR showed the up-regulation of AGR7, ABI5, BRI1, and PDR4 and down-regulation of SAPK6, NTF4, PYL6, and GPX4 in SL treatment compared with drought-only treatment. In particular, the key gene for SL signal transduction, SMXL6, was down-regulated under drought. These results elucidate the molecular aspects underlying SL-mediated plant DS tolerance, and provide pivotal strategies for effectively achieving pepper drought resilience. Full article
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23 pages, 4075 KiB  
Article
Caffeine Produced in Rice Plants Provides Tolerance to Water-Deficit Stress
by Youngchul Yoo, Yo-Han Yoo, Dong Yoon Lee, Ki-Hong Jung, Sang-Won Lee and Jong-Chan Park
Antioxidants 2023, 12(11), 1984; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox12111984 - 08 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1046
Abstract
Exogenous or endogenous caffeine application confers resistance to diverse biotic stresses in plants. In this study, we demonstrate that endogenous caffeine in caffeine-producing rice (CPR) increases tolerance even to abiotic stresses such as water deficit. Caffeine produced by CPR plants influences the cytosolic [...] Read more.
Exogenous or endogenous caffeine application confers resistance to diverse biotic stresses in plants. In this study, we demonstrate that endogenous caffeine in caffeine-producing rice (CPR) increases tolerance even to abiotic stresses such as water deficit. Caffeine produced by CPR plants influences the cytosolic Ca2+ ion concentration gradient. We focused on examining the expression of Ca2+-dependent protein kinase genes, a subset of the numerous proteins engaged in abiotic stress signaling. Under normal conditions, CPR plants exhibited increased expressions of seven OsCPKs (OsCPK10, OsCPK12, OsCPK21, OsCPK25, OsCPK26, OsCPK30, and OsCPK31) and biochemical modifications, including antioxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase) activity and non-enzymatic antioxidant (ascorbic acid) content. CPR plants exhibited more pronounced gene expression changes and biochemical alterations in response to water-deficit stress. CPR plants revealed increased expressions of 16 OsCPKs (OsCPK1, OsCPK2, OsCPK3, OsCPK4, OsCPK5, OsCPK6, OsCPK9, OsCPK10, OsCPK11, OsCPK12, OsCPK14, OsCPK16, OsCPK18, OsCPK22, OsCPK24, and OsCPK25) and 8 genes (OsbZIP72, OsLEA25, OsNHX1, OsRab16d, OsDREB2B, OsNAC45, OsP5CS, and OsRSUS1) encoding factors related to abiotic stress tolerance. The activity of antioxidant enzymes increased, and non-enzymatic antioxidants accumulated. In addition, a decrease in reactive oxygen species, an accumulation of malondialdehyde, and physiological alterations such as the inhibition of chlorophyll degradation and the protection of photosynthetic machinery were observed. Our results suggest that caffeine is a natural chemical that increases the potential ability of rice to cope with water-deficit stress and provides robust resistance by activating a rapid and comprehensive resistance mechanism in the case of water-deficit stress. The discovery, furthermore, presents a new approach for enhancing crop tolerance to abiotic stress, including water deficit, via the utilization of a specific natural agent. Full article
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Review

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27 pages, 2532 KiB  
Review
Higher Plant-Derived Biostimulants: Mechanisms of Action and Their Role in Mitigating Plant Abiotic Stress
by Sara Esperanza Martínez-Lorente, José Manuel Martí-Guillén, María Ángeles Pedreño, Lorena Almagro and Ana Belén Sabater-Jara
Antioxidants 2024, 13(3), 318; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox13030318 - 06 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1461
Abstract
Modern agriculture is being challenged by deteriorating edaphoclimatic conditions and increasing anthropogenic pressure. This necessitates the development of innovative crop production systems that can sustainably meet the demands of a growing world population while minimizing the environmental impact. The use of plant biostimulants [...] Read more.
Modern agriculture is being challenged by deteriorating edaphoclimatic conditions and increasing anthropogenic pressure. This necessitates the development of innovative crop production systems that can sustainably meet the demands of a growing world population while minimizing the environmental impact. The use of plant biostimulants is gaining ground as a safe and ecologically sound approach to improving crop yields. In this review, biostimulants obtained from different higher plant sources are presented under the term higher plant-derived biostimulants (hPDBs). Their mechanisms of action regulate physiological processes in plants from germination to fructification, conditioned by responses induced in plant mineral nutrition and primary metabolism, specialized metabolism, photosynthetic processes, oxidative metabolism, and signaling-related processes. The aim of this review is to collect and unify the abundant information dispersed in the literature on the effects of these biostimulants, focusing on crops subjected to abiotic stress conditions and the underlying mechanisms of action. Full article
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