Protection against salinity stress in black cumin involves karrikin and calcium by improving gas exchange attributes, as
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Protection against salinity stress in black cumin involves karrikin and calcium by improving gas exchange attributes, ascorbate–glutathione cycle and fatty acid compositions Parisa Sharifi1 · Siamak Shirani Bidabadi2 Received: 4 July 2020 / Accepted: 27 October 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract The present study assessed the effect of karrikin (KAR) and calcium (CaCl2) to increase salt tolerance in black cumin. Salinity stress induced oxidative stress by enhancing electrolyte leakage (EL), malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content while having a negative effect on seed yield, fatty acid content and composition, total chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence and leaf gas exchange parameters of black cumin. The activity of antioxidant enzymes involved in the ascorbate–glutathione cycle was also affected by salt stress. Black cumin seed trimming with karrikin when followed with calcium foliar application mitigated the harmful effects of salinity by improving chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence and leaf gas exchange parameters while reducing the H2O2 generation, MDA accumulation and EL. Calcium application in karrikin pretreated seedlings also reversed salinity-induced changes by enhancing the activities of enzymes in the ascorbate–glutathione cycle, other antioxidants (superoxide dismutase, catalase) and osmoprotectant (proline). The ability of black cumin seedlings to cope with salt stress after pretreatment with KARs when followed by external application of calcium can be attributed to increased levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids and modification of enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants as well as enhanced osmolyte accumulation. Keywords Antioxidant systems · CaCl2 · Karrikin · Osmoprotectant · Oxidative stress · Salinity
1 Introduction Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) is an important oilseed crop of the Ranunculaceae family, native to the semiarid regions of Mediterranean, which are the highest areas of cultivation in South Europe, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, India and Turkey [1]. It is a rich source of antioxidant, oil and protein and therefore cultivated in many countries for both nutritional and medicinal value [2]. In addition to the fact that the amount of unsaturated fatty acids in black cumin seeds is 69.7–73.5% and its saturated fatty acid is much lower (24.8–29.2%), the presence of some important medicinal effects such as antiseptic, antihistamine,
antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and insect repellent has also made the plant more valuable [3, 4]. Since salinity damages the agricultural production billions of dollars annually, it is a serious constraint for crop yields and sustainable agricultural productivity, especially in arid and semiarid regions [5, 6]. Improper irrigation practices in arid and semiarid regions and the use of saline and alkaline water for irrigation have made salinity stress one of the major challenges facing crop yields [7]. High salinity concentrations have caused about 7% of the total land area to
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