Water and nutrient availability modulate the salinity stress response in Olea europaea cv. Arbequina
Marzia Vergine,
Emily Rose Palm,
Anna Maria Salzano,
Carmine Negro,
Werther Guidi Nissim,
Leonardo Sabbatini,
Raffaella Balestrini,
Maria Concetta de Pinto,
Nunzio Dipierro,
Gholamreza Gohari,
Vasileios Fotopoulos,
Stefano Mancuso,
Andrea Luvisi,
Luigi De Bellis,
Andrea Scaloni,
Federico Vita
Affiliations
Marzia Vergine
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Emily Rose Palm
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy; Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
Anna Maria Salzano
Proteomics, Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Institute for the Animal Production System in the Mediterranean Environment, National Research Council, 80055 Portici, Italy
Carmine Negro
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Werther Guidi Nissim
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy; Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
Leonardo Sabbatini
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Raffaella Balestrini
Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy
Maria Concetta de Pinto
Department of Biosciences, Biotechnology and Environment, University of Bari ''Aldo Moro'', 70121 Bari, Italy
Nunzio Dipierro
Department of Biosciences, Biotechnology and Environment, University of Bari ''Aldo Moro'', 70121 Bari, Italy
Gholamreza Gohari
Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, 97HF+498 Maragheh, Iran; Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
Vasileios Fotopoulos
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology 3036 Limassol, Cyprus
Stefano Mancuso
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy; Fondazione per il futuro delle città (FFC), 50121 Florence, Italy
Andrea Luvisi
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Luigi De Bellis
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Andrea Scaloni
Proteomics, Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Institute for the Animal Production System in the Mediterranean Environment, National Research Council, 80055 Portici, Italy
Federico Vita
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy; Department of Biosciences, Biotechnology and Environment, University of Bari ''Aldo Moro'', 70121 Bari, Italy; Corresponding author.
Salinity stress represents a key factor for global agriculture. Plants can respond to salinity stress by adapting their physiology in different ways with the aim of limiting reductions in growth and development. Importantly, moisture retention capacity, permeability and nutrient availability of substrates represent critical variables for plants as they may further influence the effect of osmotic stress. Here, a multidisciplinary approach was applied to evaluate the role of two different substrates, peat and perlite, on 2-year-old potted cuttings of Olea europaea (cultivar Arbequina) under different salinity stress conditions (0, 100 and 200 mM NaCl). Biometric and physiological data indicate that plants potted in perlite (AP) generally present lower growth and photosynthetic rates when compared with peat (AS) in combination with salinity stress. Ion measurements indicate a rise in Na+ accumulation with increasing stress severity, which alters the ion ratio in both substrates. In addition, differences occurred in polyphenol contents, with a general increase in quinic acid and rutin contents in AS and AP samples, respectively. Metabolomic and biometric data were also coupled with metabarcoding analysis, which indicates that the moderate salinity treatment (100 mM NaCl, T100) reshaped the endophytic community of plants grown on both substrates. Taken together, the data suggest that the strategy used by a glycophytic species such as the olive tree to cope with salinity stress seems to be highly related to availability of water and nutrients. The lack of both may be simulated by perlite, enhancing the effect of salinity stress response in woody plants. Lastly, applying the beneficial endophytic bacterial taxa identified here could represent a step forward in increasing plant defence and nutrient uptake and reducing inputs for modern and more sustainable agriculture.
