Selenium Alleviates Low-Temperature Stress in Rice by Regulating Metabolic Networks and Functional Genes

Naixin Liu, Qingtao Yu, Baicui Chen, Chengxin Li, Fanshan Bu, Jingrui Li, Xianlong Peng () and Yuncai Lu ()
Additional contact information
Naixin Liu: Beet Quality Inspection and Test Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Advanced Agriculture and Ecological Environment, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Qingtao Yu: Harbin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150030, China
Baicui Chen: Harbin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150030, China
Chengxin Li: Harbin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150030, China
Fanshan Bu: Harbin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150030, China
Jingrui Li: Beet Quality Inspection and Test Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Advanced Agriculture and Ecological Environment, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
Xianlong Peng: School of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Yuncai Lu: Beet Quality Inspection and Test Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Advanced Agriculture and Ecological Environment, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 14, 1-18

Abstract: Low temperature is a major abiotic stress affecting rice productivity. Selenium (Se) treatment has been shown to enhance plant resilience to cold stress. In this study, low concentrations of selenium (ColdSe1) alleviated the adverse effects of cold stress on rice seedlings, improving fresh weight, plant height, and chlorophyll content by 36.9%, 24.3%, and 8.4%, respectively, while reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) content by 29.1%. Se treatment also increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD), by 25.2%, 42.7%, and 33.3%, respectively, and upregulated flavonoids, soluble sugars, cysteine (Cys), glutathione (GSH), and oxidized glutathione (GSSG). Transcriptome analysis revealed that ColdSe1 treatment upregulated genes associated with amino and nucleotide sugar metabolism, glutathione metabolism, and fructose and mannose metabolism. It also alleviated cold stress by modulating the MAPK signaling pathway, phytohormone signaling, and photosynthesis-related pathways, enriching genes and transcription factors linked to antioxidant metabolism and photosynthesis. Metabolomic analyses showed that ColdSe1 positively influenced amino acid glucose metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism, hormonal pathways, and alanine/glutamate pathways under cold stress, while also upregulating metabolites associated with plant secondary metabolites (e.g., flavonoids, phenolic compounds) and antioxidant metabolism (e.g., α-linolenic acid metabolism). In contrast, high selenium concentrations (ColdSe2) disrupted phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, α-linolenic acid metabolism, and ABC transporter function, exacerbating cold-stress injury. This study highlights the critical role of Se in mitigating cold stress in rice, offering a theoretical basis for its application as an agricultural stress reliever.

Keywords: Japonica rice; cold stress; selenium-mediated; transcriptome; metabolome (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: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/14/1489/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/14/1489/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:14:p:1489-:d:1699494

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().