Comparative Studies on the Physiological and Biochemical Responses to Salt Stress of Eggplant ( Solanum melongena ) and Its Rootstock S. torvum

Marco Brenes, Jason Pérez, Sara González-Orenga, Andrea Solana, Monica Boscaiu, Jaime Prohens, Mariola Plazas, Ana Fita and Oscar Vicente
Additional contact information
Marco Brenes: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera 14, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Jason Pérez: Faculty of Biology, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Avenida 14, calle 5, 30101 Cartago, Costa Rica
Sara González-Orenga: Mediterranean Agroforestry Institute (IAM), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera 14, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Andrea Solana: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera 14, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Monica Boscaiu: Mediterranean Agroforestry Institute (IAM), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera 14, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Jaime Prohens: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera 14, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Mariola Plazas: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera 14, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Ana Fita: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera 14, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Oscar Vicente: Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera 14, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-20

Abstract: This study investigated the physiological and biochemical responses to salinity stress of Solanum melongena and its wild relative, Solanum torvum , commonly used as eggplant rootstock. Young plants of both species were watered during 25 days with NaCl aqueous solutions at the following four final concentrations: 0 (for the controls), 100, 200, and 300 mM. Plant growth parameters, photosynthetic pigments content, monovalent ion concentrations in roots and leaves, leaf levels of osmolytes (proline and total soluble sugars), oxidative stress markers (MDA and H 2 O 2 ), non-enzymatic antioxidants (total phenolic compounds and total flavonoids), and enzymatic antioxidant activities (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase) were determined after the stress treatments. Salt-induced growth reduction was more significant in S. melongena than in S. torvum , especially at high salt concentrations, indicating a (slightly) higher salt tolerance of the wild species. The mechanisms of tolerance of S. torvum were partly based on the active transport of toxic ions to the leaves at high external salinity and, presumably, a better capacity to store them in the vacuoles, as well as on the accumulation of proline to higher concentrations than in the cultivated eggplant. MDA and H 2 O 2 contents did not vary in response to the salt treatments in S. torvum. However, in S. melongena , MDA content increased by 78% when 300 mM NaCl was applied. No activation of antioxidant mechanisms, accumulation of antioxidant compounds, or increase in the specific activity of antioxidant enzymes in any of the studied species was induced by salinity. The relatively high salt tolerance of S. torvum supports its use as rootstock for eggplant cultivation in salinized soils and as a possible source of salt-tolerance genes for the genetic improvement of cultivated eggplant.

Keywords: salt tolerance; soil salinity; vegetative growth; ion homeostasis; osmolytes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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