Photosynthetica 2024, 62(1):16-26 | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2023.039

Exogenous calcium-alleviating effect on sodium salt-induced phytotoxicity associated with changes in photosynthetic characteristics of wheat seedlings

Y. ZHANG1, G.M. LIU1, Z.F. WANG2, A.M. ZHANG1, Y.L. YANG1
College of Life Science, Northwest Normal University, 730070 Lanzhou, China1
College of Bioengineering and Technology, Tianshui Normal University, 741000 Tianshui, China2

To evaluate the Ca-alleviating effect on sodium salt-induced phytotoxicity, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar Xihan 3 seedlings were treated with 150 mM NaCl, CaCl2 (0.1, 0.5, and 1 mM), Ca2+-channel blocker LaCl3, and/or Ca2+ chelator, ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid (EGTA) alone or in combination, to investigate seedling growth and photosynthetic characteristics. NaCl (150 mM) exposure alone suppressed a growth of seedling, weakened photosynthetic efficiency and chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence parameters, reduced photosynthetic pigments, Ca2+ and calmodulin (CaM) contents, and downregulated TaCaM expression in wheat leaves. The opposite changes of these parameters were caused by 0.5 or 1 mM CaCl2 treatments alone. Moreover, 0.5 or 1 mM CaCl2 application effectively alleviated sodium salt-induced changes of these parameters, which was blocked by LaCl3 or EGTA. Therefore, exogenous Ca presence effectively promoted the growth of NaCl-stressed wheat seedlings through the enhancement of photosynthesis and Chl synthesis mediated by the Ca-CaM signal.

Additional key words: calcium; chlorophyll fluorescence parameters; photosynthetic characteristic; photosynthetic pigment; sodium salt stress; Triticum aestivum.

Received: May 4, 2023; Revised: September 19, 2023; Accepted: October 16, 2023; Prepublished online: November 6, 2023; Published: February 22, 2024  Show citation

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ZHANG, Y., LIU, G.M., WANG, Z.F., ZHANG, A.M., & YANG, Y.L. (2024). Exogenous calcium-alleviating effect on sodium salt-induced phytotoxicity associated with changes in photosynthetic characteristics of wheat seedlings. Photosynthetica, 62(1), 16-26. doi: 10.32615/ps.2023.039
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