Abstract
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a globally important forage legume and the most widely cultivated sown pasture species in China. Drought, as one of the most common abiotic stresses, limits alfalfa growth and development. Nitric oxide (NO), a key signaling molecule, plays an essential role in plant growth, development, and responses to various abiotic stresses. In this study, exogenous NO was applied to alfalfa seedlings under drought stress, followed by physiological and transcriptomic analyses. The results showed that sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-treated alfalfa seedlings grew better than untreated controls (CK), with improved leaf tissue structure. Meanwhile, SNP treatment increased proline content, reduced malondialdehyde accumulation, and enhanced hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity. Under drought stress, lignin content increased in alfalfa seedlings. Following exogenous NO application, lignin content in alfalfa seedlings further increased. RNA-Seq analysis identified 20,183 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in alfalfa seedlings treated with PEG, SNP, or PEG + SNP. KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that the DEGs under drought stress were involved in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway, which regulates lignin biosynthesis and enhances drought tolerance. GO enrichment analysis revealed that these DEGs participated in the response to water deprivation, thereby modulating drought stress tolerance and improving drought resistance. Furthermore, we assessed the transcript-level changes in genes induced by phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in alfalfa. Among them, 124 DEGs were identified as participating in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, including 10 up-regulated DEGs (three of which encode key enzymes associated with lignin synthesis), while the remaining DEGs were down-regulated. These findings provide new insights into the transcriptomic mechanisms of SNP-mediated drought adaptation in alfalfa and reveal key pathways contributing to drought tolerance in this species.
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Claims 14
Claim · model-written summary
SNP-treated alfalfa seedlings grew better than untreated controls.
- Taxon
- alfalfa
Medicago sativae0 - Organ / stage
- seedlingse0
- Treatment
- sodium nitroprusside (SNP)e0
- Outcome
- grewe0
- Direction
- bettere0
- Comparator
- untreated controls (CK)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The results showed that sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-treated alfalfa seedlings grew better than untreated controls (CK), with improved leaf tissue structure.”
Claim · model-written summary
SNP treatment improved alfalfa seedling leaf tissue structure.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae0
- Organ / stage
- leafe0
- Treatment
- SNPe0
- Outcome
- leaf tissue structuree0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Comparator
- untreated controls (CK)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The results showed that sodium nitroprusside (SNP)-treated alfalfa seedlings grew better than untreated controls (CK), with improved leaf tissue structure.”
Claim · model-written summary
SNP increased proline content.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- SNPe0
- Outcome
- proline contente0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Meanwhile, SNP treatment increased proline content, reduced malondialdehyde accumulation, and enhanced hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity.”
t0“alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
SNP reduced malondialdehyde accumulation.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- SNPe0
- Outcome
- malondialdehyde accumulatione0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Meanwhile, SNP treatment increased proline content, reduced malondialdehyde accumulation, and enhanced hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity.”
t0“alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
SNP enhanced hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- SNPe0
- Outcome
- hydroxyl radical scavenging capacitye0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Meanwhile, SNP treatment increased proline content, reduced malondialdehyde accumulation, and enhanced hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity.”
t0“alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
Drought stress increased lignin content in alfalfa seedlings.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae0
- Treatment
- drought stresse0
- Outcome
- lignin contente0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Under drought stress, lignin content increased in alfalfa seedlings.”
Claim · model-written summary
Exogenous NO further increased lignin content in alfalfa seedlings.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae0
- Treatment
- exogenous NOe0
- Outcome
- lignin contente0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Following exogenous NO application, lignin content in alfalfa seedlings further increased.”
Claim · model-written summary
RNA-Seq identified 20,183 differentially expressed genes in treated alfalfa seedlings.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae0
- Treatment
- PEG, SNP, or PEG + SNPe0
- Outcome
- differentially expressed genes (DEGs)e0
- Value
- 20,183e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“RNA-Seq analysis identified 20,183 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in alfalfa seedlings treated with PEG, SNP, or PEG + SNP.”
Claim · model-written summary
Under drought stress, DEGs were enriched in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, a pathway linked by the authors to lignin biosynthesis and drought tolerance.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- drought stresse0
- Gene
- DEGse0
- Outcome
- drought tolerancee0
- Qualifier
- phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathwaye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that the DEGs under drought stress were involved in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway, which regulates lignin biosynthesis and enhances drought tolerance.”
t0“alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
GO enrichment associated the DEGs with response to water deprivation and drought resistance.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Gene
- DEGse0
- Outcome
- drought resistancee0
- Qualifier
- response to water deprivatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“GO enrichment analysis revealed that these DEGs participated in the response to water deprivation, thereby modulating drought stress tolerance and improving drought resistance.”
t0“alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
A total of 124 DEGs participated in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Gene
- DEGse0
- Outcome
- DEGs were identified as participating in phenylpropanoid biosynthesise0
- Value
- 124e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Among them, 124 DEGs were identified as participating in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, including 10 up-regulated DEGs (three of which encode key enzymes associated with lignin synthesis), while the remaining DEGs were down-regulated.”
t0“alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
Ten phenylpropanoid biosynthesis DEGs were up-regulated.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Among them, 124 DEGs were identified as participating in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, including 10 up-regulated DEGs (three of which encode key enzymes associated with lignin synthesis), while the remaining DEGs were down-regulated.”
t0“alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
Three up-regulated DEGs encoded key enzymes associated with lignin synthesis.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Gene
- DEGse0
- Outcome
- encode key enzymes associated with lignin synthesise0
- Value
- threee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Among them, 124 DEGs were identified as participating in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, including 10 up-regulated DEGs (three of which encode key enzymes associated with lignin synthesis), while the remaining DEGs were down-regulated.”
t0“alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
The remaining phenylpropanoid biosynthesis DEGs were down-regulated.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Gene
- DEGse0
- Outcome
- DEGs were down-regulatede0
- Direction
- down-regulatede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Among them, 124 DEGs were identified as participating in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, including 10 up-regulated DEGs (three of which encode key enzymes associated with lignin synthesis), while the remaining DEGs were down-regulated.”
t0“alfalfa”
The same questions in other papers
nitric oxide · molecular: metabolites · Medicago sativa (alfalfa)Positive and negative results
2 in the opposite direction
- negative
- negative
sodium nitroprusside · physiology: oxidative · Medicago sativa (alfalfa)Results agree
2 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
sodium nitroprusside · physiology: osmolytes · Medicago sativa (alfalfa)Results agree
2 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
drought · molecular: metabolites · Medicago sativa (alfalfa)Positive and negative results
8 papers in the same direction as this paper · 12 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- negative
- negative
17 papers more in this group
See all 21 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.