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. 2022 Jun 28;12(7):969.
doi: 10.3390/life12070969.

Methionine Promotes the Growth and Yield of Wheat under Water Deficit Conditions by Regulating the Antioxidant Enzymes, Reactive Oxygen Species, and Ions

Muhammad Faisal Maqsood  1 , Muhammad Shahbaz  1 , Saba Kanwal  1 , Muhammad Kaleem  1 , Syed Mohsan Raza Shah  1 , Muhammad Luqman  1 , Iqra Iftikhar  1 , Usman Zulfiqar  2 , Arneeb Tariq  3 , Shahzad Amir Naveed  4   5 , Naila Inayat  6 , Atta Mohi Ud Din  7 , Muhammad Uzair  4   5 , Muhammad Ramzan Khan  4 , Fozia Farhat  3
Affiliations

Methionine Promotes the Growth and Yield of Wheat under Water Deficit Conditions by Regulating the Antioxidant Enzymes, Reactive Oxygen Species, and Ions

Muhammad Faisal Maqsood et al. Life (Basel). .

Abstract

The individual application of pure and active compounds such as methionine may help to address water scarcity issues without compromising the yield of wheat. As organic plant growth stimulants, amino acids are popularly used to promote the productivity of crops. However, the influence of the exogenous application of methionine in wheat remains elusive. The present investigation was planned in order to understand the impact of methionine in wheat under drought stress. Two wheat genotypes were allowed to grow with 100% field capacity (FC) up to the three-leaf stage. Twenty-five-day-old seedlings of two wheat genotypes, Galaxy-13 and Johar-16, were subjected to 40% FC, denoted as water deficit-stress (D), along with 100% FC, called control (C), with and without L-methionine (Met; 4 mM) foliar treatment. Water deficit significantly reduced shoot length, shoot fresh and dry weights, seed yield, photosynthetic, gas exchange attributes except for transpiration rate (E), and shoot mineral ions (potassium, calcium, and phosphorus) in both genotypes. A significant increase was recorded in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA), and sodium ions (Na+) due to water deficiency. However, foliar application of Met substantially improved the studied growth, photosynthetic, and gas exchange attributes with water deficit conditions in both genotypes. The activities of SOD, POD, and CAT were further enhanced under stress with Met application. Met improved potassium (K), calcium (Ca2+), and phosphorus (P) content. In a nutshell, the foliar application of Met effectively amended water deficit stress tolerance by reducing MDA and H2O2 content under water deficit conditions in wheat plants. Thus, we are able to deduce a positive association between Met-induced improved growth attributes and drought tolerance.

Keywords: antioxidants; grain yield; methionine; photosynthesis; wheat.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) PCA biplot for growth, chlorophyll content, and gas exchange and (B) yield, osmolytes, ROS, and antioxidant enzymes for the two wheat genotypes under water deficit stress and methionine treatment.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Clustered heatmap among growth, chlorophyll content, and gas exchange and (B) yield, osmolytes, ROS, and antioxidant enzymes for the two wheat genotypes under water deficit stress and methionine treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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