ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
This article is part of the Research TopicRegulation of Stress Tolerance in Plants by BiostimulantsView all 10 articles
Integrative osmotic antioxidant mechanisms underlying salinity stress mitigation in Gerbera jamesonii treated with proline and IAARevision title suggesiton: Integrative osmotic–antioxidant mechanisms in salinity-stressed Gerbera jamesonii treated with Proline–IAA and PGPR
Provisionally accepted
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Rize, Türkiye
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Salinity stress is a major abiotic constraint that adversely affects the productivity and ornamental value of Gerbera jamesonii Bolus ex Hook. f. This study evaluated the physiological and biochemical responses of two cultivars ('Zingana' and 'Sene Vidi') to NaCl-induced salinity and examined the mitigation potential of microbial and biostimulant applications. Plants were subjected to six treatments under controlled greenhouse conditions: Control, NaCl, NaCl + Bacteria, NaCl + Proline–IAA, Bacteria, and Proline–IAA. Salinity markedly reduced relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll pigments, and leaf area, while increasing lipid peroxidation (MDA), indicating oxidative and osmotic stress. The bacterial and Proline–IAA treatments, applied either alone or under salinity, alleviated these negative effects by maintaining water status, stabilizing pigments, and lowering MDA levels. The Proline–IAA biostimulant, in particular, enhanced osmotic regulation and chlorophyll preservation, while bacterial inoculation improved overall physiological resilience. Principal component and correlation analyses revealed strong positive associations among RWC, chlorophyll content, and leaf area, whereas MDA was negatively correlated with growth parameters. Overall, both microbial and Proline–IAA applications improved the salinity tolerance of G. jamesonii, supporting their use as sustainable tools for maintaining growth performance and ornamental quality under saline conditions.
Keywords: Bacterial inoculation, Chlorophyll Stability, Gerbera jamesonii L., oxidative stress response, Physiological tolerance, proline–indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), salinity stress
Received: 27 Oct 2025; Accepted: 15 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Karagüzel. 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: Ümmü Özgül Karagüzel
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