Chitosan pre- and post-treatment modulates molecular and physiological responses to salinity in Brassica Napus L

Abstract Salt stress affects plant growth and development to a great extent in establishing biochemical imbalances and inducing oxidative damage. The effort was undertaken to assess the relative effectiveness of chitosan pre- and post-treatments in relieving salt stress in Brassica napus L., a moder...

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Main Authors: Sarvenaz Bigham Soostani, Monireh Ranjbar, Amir Memarian, Mozhdeh Afshari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13996-z
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author Sarvenaz Bigham Soostani
Monireh Ranjbar
Amir Memarian
Mozhdeh Afshari
author_facet Sarvenaz Bigham Soostani
Monireh Ranjbar
Amir Memarian
Mozhdeh Afshari
author_sort Sarvenaz Bigham Soostani
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Salt stress affects plant growth and development to a great extent in establishing biochemical imbalances and inducing oxidative damage. The effort was undertaken to assess the relative effectiveness of chitosan pre- and post-treatments in relieving salt stress in Brassica napus L., a moderately salt-sensitive oilseed crop, with respect to the expression patterns of P5CS, PIP, and APX genes along with proline and protein accumulation. One factorial experiment was performed under controlled conditions, where the plants were exposed to varying NaCl concentrations (50, 100, 150, and 200 mM), following either the pre-treatment of chitosan (50 mg/L) or post-treatment of chitosan (50 and 100 mg/L). Gene expression analysis by means of qRT-PCR showed a significant (p < 0.05) upregulation under pre-treatment of P5CS and APX, thereby enhancing osmoprotection and antioxidant defense; however, under post-treatment, the response of P5CS and APX was only moderate. Post-treatment levels of proline and total protein were markedly higher as well. Interestingly, proline content increased by approximately 743% in pre-treated plants at 200 mM of NaCl compared to the control (p < 0.05), indicating enhanced stress tolerance. Besides, the plants subjected to pre-treatment were perfectly grown at 200 mM NaCl whereas those subjected to post-treatment were unable to survive at 150 mM. These findings reveal that the salt tolerance mechanism is better gained by chitosan pre-treatment due to osmotic adjustment enhancement and antioxidative mechanism. This study presents the potential of chitosan to be developed as a strategic biostimulant in promoting crop resistance to saline conditions.
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spelling doaj-art-1fc221f4d6c348328029569a26eb03452025-08-20T03:42:49ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-08-0115111610.1038/s41598-025-13996-zChitosan pre- and post-treatment modulates molecular and physiological responses to salinity in Brassica Napus LSarvenaz Bigham Soostani0Monireh Ranjbar1Amir Memarian2Mozhdeh Afshari3Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, Hormozgan UniversityDepartment of Biology, Fal.C, Islamic Azad UniversityDepartment of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences and Technologies, University of IsfahanDepartment of Molecular cell biology, Fal.C, Islamic Azad UniversityAbstract Salt stress affects plant growth and development to a great extent in establishing biochemical imbalances and inducing oxidative damage. The effort was undertaken to assess the relative effectiveness of chitosan pre- and post-treatments in relieving salt stress in Brassica napus L., a moderately salt-sensitive oilseed crop, with respect to the expression patterns of P5CS, PIP, and APX genes along with proline and protein accumulation. One factorial experiment was performed under controlled conditions, where the plants were exposed to varying NaCl concentrations (50, 100, 150, and 200 mM), following either the pre-treatment of chitosan (50 mg/L) or post-treatment of chitosan (50 and 100 mg/L). Gene expression analysis by means of qRT-PCR showed a significant (p < 0.05) upregulation under pre-treatment of P5CS and APX, thereby enhancing osmoprotection and antioxidant defense; however, under post-treatment, the response of P5CS and APX was only moderate. Post-treatment levels of proline and total protein were markedly higher as well. Interestingly, proline content increased by approximately 743% in pre-treated plants at 200 mM of NaCl compared to the control (p < 0.05), indicating enhanced stress tolerance. Besides, the plants subjected to pre-treatment were perfectly grown at 200 mM NaCl whereas those subjected to post-treatment were unable to survive at 150 mM. These findings reveal that the salt tolerance mechanism is better gained by chitosan pre-treatment due to osmotic adjustment enhancement and antioxidative mechanism. This study presents the potential of chitosan to be developed as a strategic biostimulant in promoting crop resistance to saline conditions.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13996-zChitosan pre-treatmentChitosan post-treatmentSalt stressBrassica Napus L.(Canola)Oxidative stressProline accumulation
spellingShingle Sarvenaz Bigham Soostani
Monireh Ranjbar
Amir Memarian
Mozhdeh Afshari
Chitosan pre- and post-treatment modulates molecular and physiological responses to salinity in Brassica Napus L
Scientific Reports
Chitosan pre-treatment
Chitosan post-treatment
Salt stress
Brassica Napus L.(Canola)
Oxidative stress
Proline accumulation
title Chitosan pre- and post-treatment modulates molecular and physiological responses to salinity in Brassica Napus L
title_full Chitosan pre- and post-treatment modulates molecular and physiological responses to salinity in Brassica Napus L
title_fullStr Chitosan pre- and post-treatment modulates molecular and physiological responses to salinity in Brassica Napus L
title_full_unstemmed Chitosan pre- and post-treatment modulates molecular and physiological responses to salinity in Brassica Napus L
title_short Chitosan pre- and post-treatment modulates molecular and physiological responses to salinity in Brassica Napus L
title_sort chitosan pre and post treatment modulates molecular and physiological responses to salinity in brassica napus l
topic Chitosan pre-treatment
Chitosan post-treatment
Salt stress
Brassica Napus L.(Canola)
Oxidative stress
Proline accumulation
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-13996-z
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