ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1592555
This article is part of the Research TopicMulti-Omics Strategies for Salinity and Drought Stress Mitigation in AgricultureView all articles
Analysis of germination characteristics and metabolome of Medicago ruthenica in response to saline-alkali stress
Provisionally accepted
- 1Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai Province, China
- 2Qinghai Animal Husbandry and Veterinary College, Xining, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This study aimed to investigate the seed germination characteristics and metabolic response mechanisms of Medicago ruthenica under saline-alkali stress, with the goal of elucidating its physiological and molecular mechanisms of salt-alkali tolerance. It was systematically analyzed the germination characteristics of four M. ruthenica germplasm resources (YSZ, XHZ, Shoulu, and Longzhong 1) from different origins with various concentrations of individual salts (NaCl, Na2SO4, NaHCO3) and compound saline-alkali stress treatments. Additionally, the metabolite changes in the domesticated species under saline-alkali stress were examined using metabolomics technology. The results indicated that low concentrations of NaCl stress did not significantly inhibit the germination of M. ruthenica seeds; rather, it promoted germination to some extent. In contrast, high concentrations of NaHCO3 and compound saline-alkali stress significantly inhibited both seed germination and seedling growth. The germination characteristics of M. ruthenica germplasm resources from different sources exhibit variability under saline-alkali stress. Domesticated species demonstrated strong tolerance to salt-alkali conditions. Metabolomic analyses indicated that salinealkali stress significantly impacts key metabolic pathways, including amino acid metabolism, sugar metabolism, and lipid metabolism in M. ruthenica sprouts, with a notable increase in the accumulation of amino acids and their derivatives. Correlation analyses revealed that amino acids such as L-arginine, histidine, and glutamine are significantly positively correlated with germination rate and root length, suggesting that these amino acids play a crucial role in M. ruthenica's response to saline-alkali stress. This study provided a new theoretical foundation for understanding the saltalkali tolerance mechanisms of M. ruthenica and serves as an important reference for breeding saltalkali tolerant forage varieties and for the ecological restoration of saline-alkali land.
Keywords: Medicago ruthenica, Adversity stress, Saline-alkali land, seed germination, Metabolomics
Received: 12 Mar 2025; Accepted: 03 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 wei, wang, xu, zhao, pu, Wang and lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Wei Wang, Qinghai Animal Husbandry and Veterinary College, Xining, China
guangxin lu, Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, Qinghai Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.