Heat stress is a major environmental constraint limiting plant growth and productivity, including in mungbean (Vigna radiata). Although physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of mungbean to elevated temperature have been widely investigated, the role of heat stress-induced leaf lipidome reconfiguration in thermotolerance remains insufficiently understood. In this study, we examined physiological, biochemical, and lipid metabolic responses to heat stress in two contrasting mungbean genotypes: PI425243 (heat-tolerant) and PI223002 (heat-sensitive), grown under non-stress (34/25 °C day/night) and heat stress (42/30 °C day/night) conditions. Heat stress significantly affected physiological traits, including chlorophyll index (SPAD), relative leaf water content, and electrolyte leakage, and altered biochemical responses, including proline accumulation, malondialdehyde content, and antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase). Lipidomic profiling identified 178 lipid species spanning major membrane lipid classes, including phospholipids and glycolipids, across both genotypes and treatments. Heat stress induced distinct lipid remodeling patterns between genotypes, with the heat-tolerant genotype PI425243 showing reduced membrane lipid unsaturation, reflected by lower proportions of polyunsaturated linolenic acid (18:3)-containing lipid species and increased abundance of less unsaturated and saturated fatty acids, particularly oleic (18:1) and linoleic (18:2)-containing species. Responsive lipid classes included major membrane phospholipids and chloroplast-associated glycolipids, indicating differential membrane adaptation under thermal stress. These findings suggest that heat-associated lipid remodeling is linked with enhanced membrane stability and improved heat adaptation in mungbean and highlight lipid signatures as potential biomarkers for screening climate-resilient genotypes.
U. Jha, H. Nayyar, Deeksha Padhiar et al.· Scientific Reports· 0 citations
Arsenic (As) contamination is a major environmental constraint that impairs wheat growth and productivity by disrupting cellular redox homeostasis, photosynthesis, and metabolic processes. Melatonin (MT), a multifunctional plant signaling molecule, has emerged as a promising regulator of plant tolerance to abiotic stresses; however, its role in mitigating As toxicity in wheat remains insufficiently understood. Wheat seedlings of three cultivars (Anaj-17, Galaxy-13, and Nayab-11) were grown in pots containing dried sand and exposed to As stress (20 mg L⁻¹) with or without MT supplementation (75 and 150 µM). Arsenic stress markedly increased As accumulation in grains, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and electrolyte leakage (EL%), while significantly reducing biomass, chlorophyll content, and gas exchange parameters. In contrast, MT application, particularly at 150 µM, effectively alleviated As-induced oxidative damage by enhancing the activities of catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Melatonin also promoted the accumulation of glycine betaine, proline, total soluble sugars, total soluble proteins, and phenolic compounds, contributing to improved physiological performance and stress tolerance. Among the tested cultivars, Anaj-17 exhibited the greatest resilience to As stress and the strongest response to MT treatment, followed by Galaxy-13 and Nayab-11, indicating considerable genotypic variation in As tolerance. These findings demonstrate that melatonin enhances wheat tolerance to arsenic toxicity by strengthening antioxidant defenses, improving osmotic adjustment, and promoting the accumulation of protective metabolites, highlighting its potential as an effective strategy for enhancing heavy-metal stress resilience in wheat and other crop species.
F. Farhat, Arneeb Tariq, Ali Liaquat et al.· Ecotoxicology and Environmen...· 0 citations
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) exhibits significant susceptibility to heat stress during its reproductive phase. However, the physiological and reproductive traits underlying heat tolerance remain inadequately characterised across diverse bean germplasm. In this study, 56 accessions were assessed under controlled heat stress conditions (32/22 °C day/night) and optimal conditions (25/15 °C) during the flowering-to-podding stage over a seven-day period across two consecutive growing seasons (2023 and 2024). Seventeen traits encompassing phenological, growth, physiological, reproductive, and yield categories were evaluated. Heat stress resulted in severe and consistent yield reductions across both seasons, with the extent of these reductions varying significantly between the tolerant and sensitive accessions. Single seed weight decreased by approximately 8% in tolerant accessions compared to approximately 34% in sensitive accessions, whereas total seed weight decreased by approximately 50% and 71%, respectively, with differences that were highly reproducible across both growing seasons. Pollen viability, pollen germination, stigma receptivity, and ovule viability were the most pronounced differentiators between the groups. Pollen viability decreased by 55–59% in tolerant accessions compared to 64–72% in sensitive lines, and pollen germination decreased by 59–65% and 71–79% across both years, respectively. In addition, tolerant accessions exhibited substantially lower electrolyte leakage and smaller declines in stomatal conductance, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic efficiency. Two-way ANOVA revealed significant effects of accession, treatment, and their interaction for the key reproductive and yield traits. Regression analysis identified total seed weight ratio (R² = 0.876 and 0.801) and single seed weight ratio (R² = 0.522 and 0.523) as the traits most strongly associated with heat tolerance, whilst pollen viability (R² = 0.449 and 0.488), pollen germination (R² = 0.428 and 0.460), ovule viability (R² = 0.438 and 0.387), and stigma receptivity (R² = 0.428 and 0.366) showed moderate associations. Cluster and principal component analyses consistently identified IC-14912, EC-106613, IC-545783, and IC-16906 as heat-tolerant and IC-545792, EC-100098, EC-121013, and IC-362075 as heat-sensitive in both seasons. The identified heat-tolerant accessions represent priority genetic resources for heat tolerance breeding programmes in common bean.
Aastha Sharda, S. Chaudhary, Bhawna Kumari et al.· Frontiers in Plant Science· 0 citations
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