ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
This article is part of the Research TopicPlant Physiological and Mechanistic Responses to Saline–Alkaline SoilsView all 5 articles
Integrated Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analysis Reveals Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle Associated Modulation of Salt Stress Responses in Glycyrrhiza uralensis
Provisionally accepted
Shangtao Wang1
Shuang Liang1Shurui Zhang1Siyu Ma1Yaping Li1Yifan Yan1Gonghao Xu2Chenghao Zhu3*
Zhirong Sun1*- 1School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicines, Beijing, China
- 2Luxi-ratio Ltd., Taipei 10070, Taiwan, Taipei, China
- 3Guangxi Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guilin, 541006, China, Guilin, China
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The depletion of wild Glycyrrhiza resources has made artificial cultivation essential; however, soil salinization severely limits the yield and quality of G. uralensis. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) exhibit promising potential in phytoremediation, yet their regulatory mechanisms under salt stress remain unclear. In this study, Glycyrrhiza uralensis was used to investigate the effects of salt stress and the modulating effects of ZnO NPs. Our results showed that ZnO NPs application enhanced salt accumulation in Glycyrrhiza uralensis while maintaining photosynthetic performance and root growth. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed that salt stress disrupted phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways, leading to detectable alterations in root metabolic profiles. Moreover, ZnO NPs modulated root metabolite accumulation and related gene expression, which further affected root metabolites and activated plant defense systems, contributing to enhanced root system adaptation and overall plant resilience under salt stress. These findings suggest that ZnO NP treatment is associated with improved salt stress performance in G. uralensis under the present experimental conditions. This study provides insights into the potential application of ZnO nanoparticles in improving salt tolerance, thereby offering a promising strategy for the sustainable cultivation of Glycyrrhiza uralensis in saline-alkali soils.
Keywords: Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Metabolome, salt stress, Transcriptome, Zinc oxide nanoparticles
Received: 15 Dec 2025; Accepted: 13 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Wang, Liang, Zhang, Ma, Li, Yan, Xu, Zhu and Sun. 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:
Chenghao Zhu
Zhirong Sun
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