Jasmonic Acid Balances Redox-Growth Continuum in Soybean Seedlings Exposed to Drought and Sodicity Stress through Orchestration of Ascorbate-Glutathione Cycle
摘要
Jasmonic acid (JA) mediated redox regulation and growth responses of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr. (cv. SL-958) seedlings subjected to drought (PEG-6000), sodicity (NaHCO3), and their combinatorial stress were investigated, highlighting the ascorbate-glutathione (AsA-GSH) cycle. Stress treatments caused marked accumulation of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, accompanied by disruption of glutathione redox balance and reduced seedling growth. Application of JA significantly enhanced the activities of key antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, dehydroascorbate reductase and glutathione reductase under both individual and combined stress conditions. JA treatment also promoted the maintenance of higher ascorbate and reduced glutathione contents and thereby improved the GSH : GSSG ratio, indicating stabilization of cellular redox homeostasis. Principal component analysis revealed a clear separation between stress-treated and JA-treated seedlings based on redox and antioxidant parameters. Morphological traits, including root length, shoot length and lateral root development closely reflected these redox adjustments, with JA-treated seedlings showing improved growth under stress. The results demonstrate that jasmonic acid mitigates both individual and combined stress of drought and sodicity induced oxidative stress by orchestrating the AsA-GSH cycle and maintaining redox-growth continuum in soybean seedlings.