Comparison between the impacts of two different modes of salicylic acid application on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) responses to salinity

• Published in: Plant signaling & behavior Vol. 13; no. 5; p. e1469361
• Main Authors: Gharbi, E., Lutts, S., Dailly, H., Quinet, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 04-05-2018
• Subjects: carbon isotopic discrimination; exogenous application; Lycopersicon esculentum - drug effects; Lycopersicon esculentum - metabolism; Osmotic Pressure - drug effects; photosynthesis-related parameters; plant growth; Potassium - metabolism; priming; Research Paper; salicylic acid; Salicylic Acid - pharmacology; Salinity; salt resistance; Sodium - metabolism; Sodium Chloride - pharmacology; water status; plant growth; priming; carbon isotopic discrimination; water status; exogenous application; photosynthesis-related parameters; salicylic acid; salt resistance
• ISSN: 1559-2316; 1559-2324; 1559-2324
• DOI: 10.1080/15592324.2018.1469361

Exogenous application of salicylic acid may improve tolerance to salinity. To investigate whether exogenous salicylic acid application had similar protective effects when applied as a priming agent or concomitantly with NaCl, tomato seedlings primed or not with 10 µM salicylic acid were further treated with 125 mM NaCl, 10 µM salicylic acid or combined treatments. Both priming and concomitant application of salicylic acid increased plant growth of salt-stressed plants but their positive impact was not additive. The endogenous salicylic acid concentration increased in the leaves after concomitant application but not in response to priming, suggesting that salicylic acid accumulated during priming was metabolized subsequently. Priming increased Na
+
and K
+
accumulation in leaves of salt-treated plants while concomitant application had no impact on shoot Na
+
and K
+
accumulation. Both priming and concomitant salicylic acid decreased osmotic potential values in salt-treated plants. Carbon isotope discrimination showed that combination of both salicylic acid application methods were required to maintain a good water use efficiency in salt-treated plants. Our work demonstrated that both procedures of salicylic acid application have positive impact on salt resistance but that the underlying properties sustaining these adaptations differ according to application methods.