Abstract
Background: Salt stress is a major limiting factor for alfalfa yield due to its relatively low salt tolerance. High soil salinity adversely impacts alfalfa growth and development, leading to reduced yield. Melatonin (MT) is known to play a significant role in enhancing plant resistance to abiotic stresses. However, the mechanisms underlying melatonin-mediated abiotic stress responses, particularly salt stress, are not well understood. To address this gap, we conducted a study focusing on germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress. Methods: Physiological indexes and transcriptomics analyses were carried out on the germinated seeds to investigate the effects of melatonin on alfalfa seedlings under salt stress conditions. Result: Our results revealed that the application of melatonin led to an increase in shoot length and fresh weight of alfalfa seedlings under salt stress. Moreover, key physiological indexes such as peroxidase (POD) activity and glutathione (GSH) content were increased, while content of malondialdehyde and superoxide anions decreased. Transcriptomic analysis identified a total of 2,131 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the salt-treated group, with 726 up-regulated and 1,405 down-regulated genes, while the MT-treated group showed 2,896 DEGs, of which 1,097 were up-regulated and 1,799 were down-regulated. Further, KEGG enrichment analysis highlighted the enrichment of DEGs in pathways including flavonoid biosynthesis, ABC transporter, glutathione metabolism and the MAPK signaling pathway, with these pathways more significantly enriched in the MT-treated group. These findings collectively indicate that melatonin plays a crucial role in the response of alfalfa to salt stress and provide new insights into melatonin mediated gene expression of alfalfa salt tolerance.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin application under salt stress increased shoot length and fresh weight of alfalfa seedlings.
- Taxon
- alfalfa
Medicago sativae1 - Organ / stage
- seedlingse1
- Treatment
- application of melatonine1
- Outcome
- shoot length and fresh weighte1
- Direction
- increasee1
- Qualifier
- under salt stresse1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Our results revealed that the application of melatonin led to an increase in shoot length and fresh weight of alfalfa seedlings under salt stress”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin under salt stress increased peroxidase (POD) activity and glutathione (GSH) content in alfalfa seedlings.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae3
- Organ / stage
- seedlingse3
- Treatment
- melatonine3
- Outcome
- peroxidase (POD) activity and glutathione (GSH) contente2
- Direction
- increasede2
- Qualifier
- under salt stress conditionse3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e2“key physiological indexes such as peroxidase (POD) activity and glutathione (GSH) content were increased”
e3“to investigate the effects of melatonin on alfalfa seedlings under salt stress conditions”
Claim · model-written summary
Melatonin under salt stress decreased malondialdehyde and superoxide anion contents in alfalfa seedlings.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae3
- Organ / stage
- seedlingse3
- Treatment
- melatonine3
- Outcome
- content of malondialdehyde and superoxide anionse4
- Direction
- decreasede4
- Qualifier
- under salt stress conditionse3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“content of malondialdehyde and superoxide anions decreased”
e3“to investigate the effects of melatonin on alfalfa seedlings under salt stress conditions”
Claim · model-written summary
Transcriptome analysis identified 2,131 differentially expressed genes in the salt-treated group of germinating alfalfa seeds.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae6
- Organ / stage
- germinating alfalfa seedse6
- Treatment
- salt-treated groupe5
- Outcome
- differentially expressed genes (DEGs)e5
- Value
- 2,131e5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“identified a total of 2,131 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the salt-treated group”
e6“germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress”
Claim · model-written summary
In the salt-treated group 726 genes were up-regulated among the differentially expressed genes of germinating alfalfa seeds.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae6
- Organ / stage
- germinating alfalfa seedse6
- Treatment
- salt-treated groupe5
- Outcome
- DEGse5
- Direction
- up-regulatede7
- Value
- 726e7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“identified a total of 2,131 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the salt-treated group”
e6“germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress”
e7“with 726 up-regulated and 1,405 down-regulated genes”
Claim · model-written summary
In the salt-treated group 1,405 genes were down-regulated among the differentially expressed genes of germinating alfalfa seeds.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae6
- Organ / stage
- germinating alfalfa seedse6
- Treatment
- salt-treated groupe5
- Outcome
- DEGse5
- Direction
- down-regulatede7
- Value
- 1,405e7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“identified a total of 2,131 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the salt-treated group”
e6“germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress”
e7“with 726 up-regulated and 1,405 down-regulated genes”
Claim · model-written summary
The MT-treated group showed 2,896 differentially expressed genes in germinating alfalfa seeds.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae6
- Organ / stage
- germinating alfalfa seedse6
- Treatment
- MT-treated groupe7
- Outcome
- DEGse7
- Value
- 2,896e7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e6“germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress”
e7“the MT-treated group showed 2,896 DEGs, of which 1,097 were up-regulated and 1,799 were down-regulated”
Claim · model-written summary
In the MT-treated group 1,097 genes were up-regulated among the differentially expressed genes of germinating alfalfa seeds.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae6
- Organ / stage
- germinating alfalfa seedse6
- Treatment
- MT-treated groupe7
- Outcome
- DEGse7
- Direction
- up-regulatede7
- Value
- 1,097e7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e6“germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress”
e7“the MT-treated group showed 2,896 DEGs, of which 1,097 were up-regulated and 1,799 were down-regulated”
Claim · model-written summary
In the MT-treated group 1,799 genes were down-regulated among the differentially expressed genes of germinating alfalfa seeds.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae6
- Organ / stage
- germinating alfalfa seedse6
- Treatment
- MT-treated groupe7
- Outcome
- DEGse7
- Direction
- down-regulatede7
- Value
- 1,799e7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e6“germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress”
e7“the MT-treated group showed 2,896 DEGs, of which 1,097 were up-regulated and 1,799 were down-regulated”
Claim · model-written summary
KEGG enrichment analysis showed enrichment of DEGs in flavonoid biosynthesis, ABC transporter and glutathione metabolism pathways in alfalfa.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae6
- Organ / stage
- germinating alfalfa seedse6
- Outcome
- enrichment of DEGse7
- Qualifier
- flavonoid biosynthesis, ABC transporter, glutathione metabolisme7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e6“germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress”
e7“KEGG enrichment analysis highlighted the enrichment of DEGs in pathways including flavonoid biosynthesis, ABC transporter, glutathione metabolism and the MAPK signaling pathway”
Claim · model-written summary
KEGG enrichment analysis showed enrichment of DEGs in the MAPK signaling pathway in alfalfa.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae6
- Organ / stage
- germinating alfalfa seedse6
- Outcome
- enrichment of DEGse7
- Qualifier
- the MAPK signaling pathwaye7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e6“germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress”
e7“KEGG enrichment analysis highlighted the enrichment of DEGs in pathways including flavonoid biosynthesis, ABC transporter, glutathione metabolism and the MAPK signaling pathway”
Claim · model-written summary
The pathways were more significantly enriched in the MT-treated group than otherwise.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae6
- Treatment
- MT-treated groupe7
- Outcome
- these pathwayse7
- Direction
- more significantly enrichede7
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e6“germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress”
e7“these pathways more significantly enriched in the MT-treated group”
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