Alleviation of salt stress in wheat seedlings by mammalian sex hormones

BACKGROUND: Salinity is one of the most serious constraints facing agriculture today. Some mechanical, chemical and biological approaches are being pursued to cope with soil salinity. Although exogenously treated mammalian sex hormones (MSHs), progesterone, β‐estradiol and androsterone, activate significant effects in various biological aspects in plants growing under normal conditions, there is no report investigating their effects on plants growing under salt stress. The present study aimed to investigate whether MSHs could alleviate the destructive effect of salt stress on wheat seedlings and thereby increase their salt tolerance. Wheat leaves were sprayed with 10^?6, 10^?8 and 10^?10 mol L^?1 concentrations of MSH on the ninth day after sowing. MSH‐treated seedlings (10‐day‐old seedlings) were subjected to salt stress for 5 days (between days 10 and 15). RESULTS: At all the concentrations tested, MSH treatment provided a significant protection against to detrimental effects of salt stress in wheat seedlings. It improved dry weight, sugar, proline, protein, chlorophyll and glutathione contents in comparison to salinity alone. Similarly, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and nitrate reductase activities also were augmented by MSH treatment. On the other hand, increases in lipid peroxidation level, superoxide production and hydrogen peroxide content arising from salt treatment were reduced by MSH treatment. The highest salt tolerance was obtained at the concentrations of 10^?6 mol L^?1 for progesterone and 10^?8 mol L^?1 for β‐estradiol and for androsterone. CONCLUSION: MSHs could be used effectively to protect wheat seedlings from the destructive effects of salt stress by stimulating both enzymatic and non‐enzymatic antioxidant mechanism and by promoting levels of osmotic protectants such as proline and sugars resulting in osmotic adjustment, carbon storage and radical scavenging in plants. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry