Improvement of water deficit stress tolerance of Impatiens walleriana shoots grown in vitro by methyl jasmonate

• DOI: 10.1007/s11240-022-02432-z
• Publication Date: 2022-12-21T09:04:43Z
• Authors: Marija Đurić; Angelina Subotić; Milana Trifunović...; Snežana Milošević
• Keywords: Methyl jasmonate

This study was performed to determine the response of Impatiens walleriana, an important horticultural plant, to exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) during in vitro PEG8000−induced water defcit. Shoots were pretreated with graded MeJA concentrations (0, 5, 50, and 100 µM) in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium for 7 days. After pretreatment, shoots were exposed to diferent treatments for 20 days: MS with polyethylene glycol (PEG8000 −0 or 3%), MS with PEG8000 (3%)+MeJA (5, 50 or 100 µM), and MS with MeJA (5, 50 or 100 µM) only. MeJA pretreatment had positive efects on I. walleriana growth (fresh weight, plant height, number of leaves per plant and proliferation rate) in non-stressed shoots, especially after application of the lowest MeJA concentration (5 µM). In the water defcit conditions caused by PEG8000, pretreatment with 5 µM MeJA increased all analyzed growth parameters, and caused decreased photosynthetic pigment, proline and total amino acid content, total polyphenol and DPPH (1,1′-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) activity, hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde content. Additionally, changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase) were induced. Pretreatment with higher MeJA concentrations (50 and 100 µM) mainly suppressed the I. walleriana shoots growth under water defcit, combination treatments and treatment only with MeJA. These results indicate the potential of MeJA’s in enhancing I. walleriana ability to withstand the water stress in vitro. I. walleriana improved water stress resistance by promoting defense-related metabolism, which was mainly induced by pretreatment with the lowest applied MeJA concentration (5 µM).