Frontiers in Plant Science (Sep 2024)

Potassium indole-3-butyric acid affects rice’s adaptability to salt stress by regulating carbon metabolism, transcription factor genes expression, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites

  • Hang Zhou,
  • Hang Zhou,
  • Fengyan Meng,
  • Wenxin Jiang,
  • Wenxin Jiang,
  • Xutong Lu,
  • Xutong Lu,
  • Rui Zhang,
  • Anqi Huang,
  • Kunlun Wu,
  • Kunlun Wu,
  • Peng Deng,
  • Yaxin Wang,
  • Huimin Zhao,
  • Youwei Du,
  • Jingxin Huo,
  • Xiaole Du,
  • Naijie Feng,
  • Dianfeng Zheng

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1416936
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

Read online

Soil salinity pollution is increasing worldwide, seriously affecting plant growth and crop production. Existing reports on how potassium indole-3-butyric acid (IBAK) regulates rice salt stress adaptation by affecting rice carbon metabolism, transcription factor (TF) genes expression, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites still have limitations. In this study, an IBAK solution at 40 mg L−1 was sprayed on rice leaves at the seedling stage. The results showed that the IBAK application could promote shoot and root growth, decrease sucrose and fructose content, increase starch content, and enhance acid invertase (AI) and neutral invertase (NI) activity under salt stress, indicating altered carbon allocation. Furthermore, the expression of TF genes belonging to the ethylene responsive factor (ERF), WRKY, and basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) families was influenced by IBAK. Many key genes (OsSSIIc, OsSHM1, and OsPPDKB) and metabolites (2-oxoglutaric acid, fumaric acid, and succinic acid) were upregulated in the carbon metabolism pathway. In addition, this study highlighted the role of IBAK in regulating the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites pathway, potentially contributing to rice stress adaptability. The results of this study can provide new sustainable development solutions for agricultural production.

Keywords