Physiological and Epigenetic Reaction of Barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) to the Foliar Application of Silicon under Soil Salinity Conditions

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2022-01, Vol.23 (3), p.1149
• Main Authors: Stadnik, Barbara, Tobiasz-Salach, Renata, Mazurek, Marzena
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abiotic stress; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Barley; Chlorophyll; Chlorophyll - metabolism; chlorophyll fluorescence; Crops; Cytosine; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA Methylation; Environmental conditions; Enzymes; Epigenesis, Genetic; Epigenetics; Fluorescence; Foliar applications; Gas exchange; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Hordeum - drug effects; Hordeum - genetics; Hordeum - physiology; Hordeum vulgare; Leaves; methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP); Photosynthesis; Photosynthetic apparatus; Physiological effects; Physiology; Plant Leaves - drug effects; Plant Leaves - genetics; Plant Leaves - physiology; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plant resistance; plant stress; Polymorphism; Proteins; Salinity; Salinity effects; Salt; Salt Stress; Silicon; Silicon - pharmacology; Sodium chloride; Soil conditions; Soil salinity; Spraying; Trace elements; Trace Elements - pharmacology
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031149

Soil salinity is an important environmental factor affecting physiological processes in plants. It is possible to limit the negative effects of salt through the exogenous application of microelements. Silicon (Si) is widely recognized as an element improving plant resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. The aim of the research was to determine the impact of foliar application of Si on the photosynthetic apparatus, gas exchange and DNA methylation of barley ( L.) grown under salt stress. Plants grown under controlled pot experiment were exposed to sodium chloride (NaCl) in the soil at a concentration of 200 mM, and two foliar applications of Si were made at three concentrations (0.05%, 0.1% and 0.2%). Measurements were made of relative chlorophyll content in leaves (CCl), gas exchange parameters (C E, g , and P ), and selected chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (F /F , F /F , PI and RC/ABS). Additionally, DNA methylation level based on cytosine methylation within the 3'CCGG 5' sequence was analyzed. Salinity had a negative effect on the values of the parameters examined. Exogenous application of Si by spraying leaves increased the values of the measured parameters in plants. Plants treated with NaCl in combination with the moderate (0.1%) and highest (0.2%) dose of Si indicated the lowest methylation level. Decrease of methylation implicated with activation of gene expression resulted in better physiological parameters observed in this group of barley plants.