Effects of Citric Acid and Humic-like Substances on Yield, Enzyme Activities, and Expression of Genes Involved in Iron Uptake in Tomato Plants
2023
Fabián Pérez-Labrada | Adalberto Benavides-Mendoza | Antonio Juárez-Maldonado | Susana Solís-Gaona | Susana González-Morales
Iron (Fe) deficiency is a common abiotic stress on plants growing in calcareous soils where low organic matter content, high carbonate–bicarbonate concentration, and high pH precipitate Fe in unavailable forms. Enzymatic activity is a mechanism for plants to access soil nutrients; enzymes such as H<sup>+</sup>-ATPase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), and the intracellular enzyme ferric reduction oxidase (FRO) are involved in Fe absorption. The effects of the application of citric acid (CA) and humic-like substances (HLS) on the yield, H<sup>+</sup>-ATPase, PEPC, and FRO enzyme activity, and expression of <i>LeHA1</i>, <i>LePEPC1</i>, and <i>LeFRO1</i> genes in tomato plants grown under calcareous soil were studied. CA and HLS improved the SPAD units and increased the number of harvested fruits and yield per plant. Temporary alterations in enzyme activity, which reduced PEPC and FRO activity in roots, were documented. In leaf tissue, CA resulted in lower expression of <i>LeHA1</i> and <i>LePEPC1</i> and the induction of <i>LeFRO1</i> expression, whereas HLS application resulted in higher expression of <i>LePEPC1</i> and <i>LeFRO1</i>. In roots, <i>LeHA1</i> expression increased with HLS, whereas <i>LePEPC1</i> and <i>LeFRO1</i> showed lower expression with CA and HLS, respectively. The application of CA and HLS through a nutrient solution in combination with Fe-chelate can improve Fe nutrition in tomato plants potted in calcareous soil by inducing temporal alterations in PEPC and FRO enzyme activity and <i>LeFRO1</i> and <i>LeHA1</i> gene expression.
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