Involvement of melatonin applied to Vigna radiata L. seeds in plant response to chilling stress

Abstract

The impact of melatonin (50 µM L−1) applied to Vigna radiata seeds by hydro-priming on phenolic content, L-phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL) activity, MEL level, antioxidant properties of ethanol extracts as well as electrolyte leakage from chilled and re-warmed Vigna radiata roots of seedlings were examined. Seedlings obtained from non-primed seeds, hydro-primed and hydro-primed with MEL were investigated after 2 days of chilling and 2 days of re-warming. At 25°C, the level of MEL in roots derived from seeds hydro-primed with MEL was 7-fold higher than in roots derived from non-primed seeds. However, the content of MEL significantly decreased in all variants investigated after re-warming, in contrast to PAL activity and phenolic levels, which reached the highest values. The antioxidant capacity of ethanol extracts from chilled and re-warmed roots, determined by ABTS+· assay, was correlated with phenolic content while the reducing ability of these extracts, determined by the FRAP method, correlated with PAL activity. However, both were the highest in rewarmed roots with applied MEL, which was accompanied by a significant decline in electrolyte leakage. Taken together, results may indicate that MEL can play a positive role in plant acclimation to stressful conditions and activation of phenolic pathway by this molecule.

Melatonin treatment of pre-veraison grape berries modifies phenolic components and antioxidant activity of grapes and wine

“…The melatonin content of MT-1 and MT-2 treated grape berries was 7.93 and 8.44 ng/L repectively, increasing the content by 8.2% and 15.1% as compared with the control. The increasement in melatonin content probably due to exogenous melatonin applied was consistent with earlier reports on the roots of Vigna radiata seedlings (Szafrańska et al, 2014), which indicated that melatonin applied to the seeds of V. radiata can improve the melatonin content. So we can infer that the exogenous melatonin applied to pre-veraison berries stimulated the concentration of melatonin in grape berries.…”

“…The activity of this enzyme is affected by various biotic and abiotic stresses. Previous research on the seeds of Vigna radiate L. seeds indicated that extrogenous melatonin increased the activity of PAL, accompanied by the induced accumulation of total phenolics and increasement of antioxidant capacity (Szafrańska et al, 2014). However, as a new phytohormone, the effect of melatonin on the phenolic composition of grape berries and wine remains unclear.…”

Melatonin Application to Pisum sativum L. Seeds Positively Influences the Function of the Photosynthetic Apparatus in Growing Seedlings during Paraquat-Induced Oxidative Stress

“…The beneficial effects of seed priming on their resistance to environmental stresses is documented (Jisha et al, 2013). Our data indicate that the positive effects of pre-sowing melatonin application by priming relates not only to seed quality (higher germination and vigor under suboptimal conditions) but also to seedling development, plant growth and product yield (Janas et al, 2009; Posmyk et al, 2009a; Szafrańska et al, 2012, 2013, 2014). …”

“…In relation to this, exogenous melatonin application into the seeds using different priming methods has proven highly effective (Posmyk et al, 2008, 2009a,b; Janas et al, 2009; Szafrańska et al, 2012, 2013, 2014; Kołodziejczyk et al, 2015). …”

Melatonin Improves the Photosynthetic Apparatus in Pea Leaves Stressed by Paraquat via Chlorophyll Breakdown Regulation and Its Accelerated de novo Synthesis

“…Melatonin concentrations were chosen as optimal, on the basis of previous experiments (Szafrańska et al, 2014). A fungicide, Thiuram (Organica-Sarzyna, Poland), was used for seed sterilization, and thereafter they were placed in plastic boxes with cottonwool moistened with distilled water and germinated at 25°C for 3 days.…”