Scholarlink

Background <p>Pepper (<i>Capsicum annuum</i> L.), an annual herbaceous plant of the Solanaceae family, is extensively cultivated as both a fresh vegetable and a condiment, ranking among the most widely grown vegetable crops globally. Pod pepper (<i>Capsicum annuum</i> var. <i>conoides</i>), major variety of pepper, often suffers from salt stress during growth, leading to reduced yield and quality. However, systematic multi-omics studies on the salt stress response in pod pepper remain limited.</p> Results <p>To elucidate physiological responses and salt tolerance mechanisms in pepper plants, this study screened 63 pod pepper accessions and selected salt-tolerant (P47) and salt-sensitive (P18) varieties for comparative analysis. Integrated physiological, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed that P47 exhibited lower leaf relative electrical conductivity, malondialdehyde content, and Na⁺/K⁺ ratio, along with better maintenance of chlorophyll a content and antioxidant enzyme activities. Transmission electron microscopy showed that P47 maintained intact mesophyll cell ultrastructure under stress, while P18 exhibited severe damage, including chloroplast membrane disintegration and starch grain degradation. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis further revealed significant enrichment of differential metabolites in pathways such as phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, tyrosine metabolism, alkaloid biosynthesis, and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Key salt-responsive genes, including <i>SAUR</i>, <i>ARF7</i>, and <i>TAT</i>, involved in plant hormone signal transduction, tyrosine metabolism, and alkaloid biosynthesis, were identified.</p> Conclusions <p>This study, for the first time, systematically reveals the involvement of the alkaloid pathway in the salt stress response of pod pepper through integrated multi-omics approaches. It elucidates the physiological and molecular mechanisms by which the salt-tolerant variety enhances antioxidant capacity, regulates ion homeostasis, and maintains cellular structural integrity under salt stress. These findings provide a theoretical basis and genetic resources for targeted breeding of salt-tolerant pepper cultivars.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Physiological and biochemical variations in different pepper (Capsicum annuum var. conoides) varieties under salt stress

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月8日

查看全文
  • Xinru Li,
  • Yamin Zhang,
  • Doudou Zhang,
  • Junhao Liu,
  • Nan Xu,
  • Yike Zhong,
  • Xu Han,
  • Zhuona Chen,
  • Yingpeng Hua,
  • Nan Lu,
  • Bo Li,
  • Yinggang Wang,
  • Wenyue Li,
  • Haihong Shang

摘要

Background

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), an annual herbaceous plant of the Solanaceae family, is extensively cultivated as both a fresh vegetable and a condiment, ranking among the most widely grown vegetable crops globally. Pod pepper (Capsicum annuum var. conoides), major variety of pepper, often suffers from salt stress during growth, leading to reduced yield and quality. However, systematic multi-omics studies on the salt stress response in pod pepper remain limited.

Results

To elucidate physiological responses and salt tolerance mechanisms in pepper plants, this study screened 63 pod pepper accessions and selected salt-tolerant (P47) and salt-sensitive (P18) varieties for comparative analysis. Integrated physiological, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed that P47 exhibited lower leaf relative electrical conductivity, malondialdehyde content, and Na⁺/K⁺ ratio, along with better maintenance of chlorophyll a content and antioxidant enzyme activities. Transmission electron microscopy showed that P47 maintained intact mesophyll cell ultrastructure under stress, while P18 exhibited severe damage, including chloroplast membrane disintegration and starch grain degradation. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis further revealed significant enrichment of differential metabolites in pathways such as phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, tyrosine metabolism, alkaloid biosynthesis, and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Key salt-responsive genes, including SAUR, ARF7, and TAT, involved in plant hormone signal transduction, tyrosine metabolism, and alkaloid biosynthesis, were identified.

Conclusions

This study, for the first time, systematically reveals the involvement of the alkaloid pathway in the salt stress response of pod pepper through integrated multi-omics approaches. It elucidates the physiological and molecular mechanisms by which the salt-tolerant variety enhances antioxidant capacity, regulates ion homeostasis, and maintains cellular structural integrity under salt stress. These findings provide a theoretical basis and genetic resources for targeted breeding of salt-tolerant pepper cultivars.