Melatonin and dopamine alleviate waterlogging stress in apples by recruiting beneficial endophytes to enhance physiological resilience

• Published in: Journal of Integrative Agriculture 2024-07, Vol.23 (7), p.2270-2291
• Main Authors: Cao, Yang, Du, Peihua, Shang, Yuwei, Ji, Jiahao, Tan, Leiqing, Zhang, Xue, Xu, Jizhong, Liang, Bowen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: dopamine; endophytes; Malus hupehensis; melatonin; metabolomics; waterlogging
• ISSN: 2095-3119; 2352-3425
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2023.12.012

Melatonin and dopamine can potentially prevent waterlogging stress in apples. The current study investigated the mechanism by which melatonin and dopamine alleviate apple waterlogging stress. This study demonstrated that melatonin and dopamine alleviated waterlogging by removing reactive oxygen species (ROS), and that the nitric oxide (NO) content and nitrate reductase (NR) activity were significantly correlated. Melatonin and dopamine were also found to recruit different candidate beneficial endophytes (melatonin: Novosphingobium, Propionivibrio, and Cellvibrio; dopamine: Hydrogenophaga, Simplicispira, Methyloversatilis, Candidatus_Kaiserbacteria, and Humicola), and these endophytes were significantly and positively correlated with plant growth. Network analyses showed that melatonin and dopamine significantly affected the endophytic bacterial and fungal communities under waterlogging stress. The metabolomic results showed that melatonin and dopamine led to waterlogging resistance by upregulating the abundance of beneficial substances such as amino acids, flavonoids, coumarins, and organic acids. In addition, melatonin and dopamine regulated the physicochemical properties of the soil, which altered the endophyte community and affected plant growth. The co-occurrence network demonstrated close and complex relationships among endophytes, metabolites, soil, and the plants. Our results demonstrate that melatonin and dopamine alleviate waterlogging stress in apples by recruiting beneficial endophytes to enhance physiological resilience. This study provides new insights into how melatonin and dopamine alleviate stress and a theoretical basis for synergistic beneficial microbial resistance to waterlogging stress.