Antioxidant response to salinity in salt-tolerant and salt-susceptible cultivars of date palm

Latifa Al Kharusi, Rashid Al Yahyai, Mahmoud W. Yaish*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

70 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The salinity tolerance mechanism in date palm through antioxidation has not been completely deciphered to date. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of various antioxidants in salinity tolerance. Two date palm cultivars, contrasting in salinity tolerance, were used as model plants in a comparative study designed to detect changes in growth, Na+ and K+ uptake, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and antioxidant accumulations, when plants were exposed to salt stress. The results showed that salinity treatment had a more substantial negative effect on the growth and photosynthetic pigmentation of the susceptible ‘Zabad’ cultivar than on the tolerant ‘Umsila’ cultivar, probably due to the ability of ‘Umsila’ to accumulate less Na+ and more K+, to maintain a normal concentration of ROS and to produce more non-enzymatic antioxidants, including glutathione, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and proline. Under salinity, ‘Umsila’ could also activate more superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) than ‘Zabad’. These results suggest that the tolerance of ‘Umsila’ is partially due to the balanced Na+ and K+ uptake and to the relatively high concentration of ROS-scavenging metabolites. Together, these results indicate that the antioxidant mechanism is crucial for salinity tolerance in date palms. However, other mechanisms may also be involved in this trait.

Original languageEnglish
Article number8
JournalAgriculture (Switzerland)
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 1 2019

Keywords

  • Antioxidants
  • Antioxidation
  • Date palm
  • ROS
  • Salinity
  • Tolerance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Food Science
  • Agronomy and Crop Science
  • Plant Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Antioxidant response to salinity in salt-tolerant and salt-susceptible cultivars of date palm'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this