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The protective role of melatonin in plants against various abiotic stresses have been widely demonstrated, but poorly explored in organ-specific responses and the transmission of melatonin signals across organs. In this study, the effects of melatonin with the root-irrigation method and the leaf-spraying method on the antioxidant system and photosynthetic machinery in maize seedlings under drought stress were investigated. The results showed that drought stress led to the rise in reactive oxygen species (ROS), severe cell death, and degradation of D1 protein, which were mitigated by the melatonin application. The application of melatonin improved the photosynthetic activities and alleviated the oxidative damages of maize seedlings under the drought stress. Compared with the leaf-spraying method, the root-irrigation method was more effective on enhancing drought tolerance. Moreover, maize seedlings made organ-specific physiological responses to the drought stress, and the physiological effects of melatonin varied with the dosage, application methods and plant organs. The signals of exogenous melatonin received by roots could affect the stress responses of leaves, and the melatonin signals perceived by leaves also led to changes in physiological metabolisms in roots under the stress. Consequently, the whole seedlings coordinated the different parts and made a systemic acclimation against the drought stress. Melatonin as a protective agent against abiotic stresses has a potential application prospect in the agricultural industry.

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) plays important role in multiple plant developmental processes and stress responses. We investigated the possible mediatory role of melatonin in growth, photosynthesis, and the response to cold stress in rice by using three different experiments: soaking seed; immersing roots, and spraying to leaves with 0, 20, or 100 μM melatonin. After 6 days of cold stress, the growth of rice seedlings was significantly inhibited, but this inhibition was alleviated by exogenous melatonin. Furthermore, exogenous melatonin pretreatment alleviated the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde and cell death induced by cold stress. Melatonin pretreatment also relieved the stress-induced inhibitions to photosynthesis and photosystem II activities. Further investigations showed that, antioxidant enzyme activities and non-enzymatic antioxidant levels were increased by melatonin pretreatments. The treatment methods of seed soaking and root immersion were more effective in improving cold stress resistance than the spraying method. The results also indicated the dose-dependent response of melatonin on rice physiological, biochemical, and photosynthetic parameters.

Background and Aims Anthosachne Steudel is a group of allopolyploid species that was derived from hexaploidization between the Asian StY genome Roegneria entity and the Australasia W genome Australopyrum species. Polyploidization and apomixis contribute to taxonomic complexity in Anthosachne. Here, a study is presented on the phylogeny and evolutionary history of Anthosachne australasica. The aims are to demonstrate the process of polyploidization events and to explore the differentiation patterns of the St genome following geographic isolation. Methods Chloroplast rbcL and trnH-psbA and nuclear Acc1 gene sequences of 60 Anthosachne taxa and nine Roegneria species were analysed with those of 33 diploid taxa representing 20 basic genomes in Triticeae. The phylogenetic relationships were reconstructed. A time-calibrated phylogeny was generated to estimate the evolutionary history of A. australasica. Nucleotide diversity patterns were used to assess the divergence within A. australasica and between Anthosachne and its putative progenitors. Key Results Three homoeologous copies of the Acc1 sequences from Anthosachne were grouped with the Acc1 sequences from Roegneria, Pseudoroegneria, Australopyrum, Dasypyrum and Peridictyon. The chloroplast sequences of Anthosachne were clustered with those from Roegneria and Pseudoroegneria. Divergence time for Anthosachne was dated to 4·66 million years ago (MYA). The level of nucleotide diversity in Australasian Anthosachne was higher than that in continental Roegneria. A low level of genetic differentiation within the A. australasica complex was found. Conclusions Anthosachne originated from historical hybridization between Australopyrum species and a Roegneria entity colonized from Asia to Australasia via South-east Asia during the late Miocene. The St lineage served as the maternal donor during the speciation of Anthosachne. A contrasting pattern of population genetic structure exists in the A. australasica complex. Greater diversity in island Anthosachne compared with continental Roegneria might be associated with mutation, polyploidization, apomixis and expansion. It is reasonable to consider that A. australasica var. scabra and A. australasica var. plurinervisa should be included in the A. australasica complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]