Molecular Effects of Silicon on Arabidopsis thaliana Seedlings under UV‐B Stress

Abstract

Silicon‐plant interaction studies have shown that silicon reduces the harmful effects of stress in plants. Ultraviolet‐B (UV‐B) radiation, one of the abiotic stress affecting plants, poses a severe problem due to global warming. In this context, it is crucial to examine silicon's effects on UV‐B radiation stress at the molecular level. The experiments were carried out on 17 days old Arabidopsis seedlings that were treated with 800 μWatt cm−2 doses of UV‐B for 60 min and harvested on the 28th day. 1 mM orthosilicic acid was applied to the in vitro plant tissue culture for experimental groups. According to the results of the osmolyte accumulation analyses, silicon has been shown to play a role in the osmotic stress response. Gene expression levels of DGK2, CHS, FLC, RAD51, and UVR8 were measured via qPCR, and it has been shown that silicon interacts with these genes under UV‐B radiation stress. The result of genomic DNA methylation analysis demonstrated that silicon might affect DNA methylation levels by increasing the 5‐mC percentage compared with the control group. This study focused on the molecular effects of silicon application. It supports silicon–plant interaction research by demonstrating that silicon might affect UV‐B response at the molecular level.