Photosynthetica 2022, 60(4):508-520 | DOI: 10.32615/ps.2022.031

Higher activity of PSI compared to PSII accounts for the beneficial effect of silicon on barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants challenged with salinity

M. FALOUTI1, H. ELLOUZI1, F. BOUNAOUARA1, N. FARHAT1, A.M. AGGAG2, 3, A. DEBEZ1, M. RABHI1, 2, C. ABDELLY1, I. SLAMA1, W. ZORRIG1
1 Laboratory of Extremophile Plants, Centre of Biotechnology of Borj-Cedria, BP 901, Hammam-Lif 2050, Tunisia
2 Department of Plant Production and Protection, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
3 Department of Natural Resources and Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Damanhour University, Egypt

This study was conducted to assess whether silicon (Si) supply can alleviate the harmful effects of severe salinity in barley (Hordeum vulgare). Plants were grown on non-saline (0 mM NaCl) or saline (200 mM NaCl) nutrient media supplemented or not with 0.5 mM Si. Salinity impacted plant morphology and induced sodium and chloride accumulation within plant tissues. It significantly affected almost all measured parameters. Interestingly, Si supply alleviated salt stress effects on plant morphology, growth (up to +59%), water status (up to +74%), membrane integrity (up to +35%), pigment contents (up to +121%), and the activity of the two photosystems (PSI and PSII) by improving their yields, and by reducing their energy dissipation. Si beneficial effect was more pronounced on PSI as compared to PSII. As a whole, data inferred from the present study further confirmed that silicon application is an effective approach to cope with salinity.

Additional key words: chlorophyll fluorescence; growth; malondialdehyde; PSI oxidation; potassium nutrition.

Received: March 29, 2022; Revised: May 23, 2022; Accepted: June 30, 2022; Prepublished online: September 7, 2022; Published: December 21, 2022  Show citation

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FALOUTI, M., ELLOUZI, H., BOUNAOUARA, F., FARHAT, N., AGGAG, A.M., DEBEZ, A., ... ZORRIG, W. (2022). Higher activity of PSI compared to PSII accounts for the beneficial effect of silicon on barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants challenged with salinity. Photosynthetica, 60(4), 508-520. doi: 10.32615/ps.2022.031
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