Exogenous Serotonin Improves Salt Tolerance in Rapeseed (<i>Brassica napus</i> L.) Seedlings
Yue Liu,
Xiaoyu Ding,
Yan Lv,
Yong Cheng,
Chunsheng Li,
Lei Yan,
Shanshan Tian,
Xiling Zou
Affiliations
Yue Liu
Key Lab of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China
Xiaoyu Ding
Key Lab of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China
Yan Lv
Key Lab of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China
Yong Cheng
Key Lab of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China
Chunsheng Li
Hubei Institute of New Socialist Countryside Development, Hubei Engineering University, Xiaogan 432000, China
Lei Yan
Key Lab of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China
Shanshan Tian
Key Lab of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China
Xiling Zou
Key Lab of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, China
Serotonin is a well-known agent that plays various roles in animals, and is little known in plants. In this study, the effect of exogenous serotonin was tested on Brassica napus L. (rapeseed) under salt stress. The results revealed that exogenous application of 200 µmol/L serotonin had the best protection under salinity. Exogenous serotonin effectively alleviated the growth inhibition of seedlings caused by salinity, and significantly promoted the accumulation of the fresh and dry weights of roots and shoots. Besides, although the H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were raised under salinity, they were reduced by exogenous serotonin. The chlorophyll content was decreased under salinity, and was increased by exogenous serotonin. Under salinity, serotonin effectively activated antioxidant enzyme system through improving the catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) activities, and the expression of POD7, CAT3 and Cu-SOD genes was also up-regulated. The results also revealed exogenous serotonin increased the solute content by promoting the accumulation of soluble sugar and protein. In conclusion, salinity caused a toxicity to seedlings through oxidative damage to chlorophyll and cell membrane integrity, and serotonin possessed the ability of scavenging reactive oxygen species, osmotic pressure regulation and promoting growth, thus alleviating salinity of rape seedlings.
