Study on the mechanism of exogenous CaCl2 regulating cell growth and development to alleviate salt tolerance of alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Salt stress affects the growth and development of alfalfa. Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) plays a role in signal transduction and stabilizing cell membrane system in plant response to salt stress. However, the regulatory effect of CaCl2 on the growth and development of alfalfa cells under Sodium Chloride...

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Main Authors: Huhu Liu, Ling Pan, Irshad Ahmad, Yuyu Bai, Sicong Shen, Renhuang Shi, Tingyang Xu, Ying Sun, Yang Gao, Bowen Kang, Yiwen Lu, Xiaoshan Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1565723/full
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author Huhu Liu
Ling Pan
Irshad Ahmad
Yuyu Bai
Sicong Shen
Renhuang Shi
Tingyang Xu
Ying Sun
Yang Gao
Bowen Kang
Yiwen Lu
Xiaoshan Wang
author_facet Huhu Liu
Ling Pan
Irshad Ahmad
Yuyu Bai
Sicong Shen
Renhuang Shi
Tingyang Xu
Ying Sun
Yang Gao
Bowen Kang
Yiwen Lu
Xiaoshan Wang
author_sort Huhu Liu
collection DOAJ
description Salt stress affects the growth and development of alfalfa. Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) plays a role in signal transduction and stabilizing cell membrane system in plant response to salt stress. However, the regulatory effect of CaCl2 on the growth and development of alfalfa cells under Sodium Chloride (NaCl) stress is not clear. This study analyzed the response and mitigation mechanism of adding 1mM CaCl2 to alfalfa seedlings under 120 mM NaCl stress. The results showed that the addition of CaCl2 increased the germination rate, vigor index and root length of alfalfa under salt stress. Secondly, the addition of CaCl2 reduced the activity of peroxidase, which led to the decrease of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) content and catalase (CAT) activity. From the perspective of anatomical structure, the addition of CaCl2 under salt stress did not promote the elongation growth of alfalfa, which mainly reduced the area of root and leaf cells. Transcription sequencing showed that phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) signal transduction and photosynthesis pathways played a key role in alleviating NaCl stress when CaCl2 was added under salt stress. The up-regulation of genes including peroxidase (POD), chitinase (ChiB) and Light-Harvesting Complex (LHC) could regulate lignin accumulation and ethylene, abscisic acid and H2O2 transfer to defend against salt stress. In conclusion, CaCl2 can regulate the morphological physiology and antioxidant system of alfalfa, effectively alleviate the adverse effects of salt stress, and provide a basis for exploring the regulation of salt tolerance and the mitigation of salt stress
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spelling doaj-art-c2850f928a7f4229afdcd85364a249fc2025-08-20T03:15:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-07-011610.3389/fpls.2025.15657231565723Study on the mechanism of exogenous CaCl2 regulating cell growth and development to alleviate salt tolerance of alfalfa (Medicago sativa)Huhu LiuLing PanIrshad AhmadYuyu BaiSicong ShenRenhuang ShiTingyang XuYing SunYang GaoBowen KangYiwen LuXiaoshan WangSalt stress affects the growth and development of alfalfa. Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) plays a role in signal transduction and stabilizing cell membrane system in plant response to salt stress. However, the regulatory effect of CaCl2 on the growth and development of alfalfa cells under Sodium Chloride (NaCl) stress is not clear. This study analyzed the response and mitigation mechanism of adding 1mM CaCl2 to alfalfa seedlings under 120 mM NaCl stress. The results showed that the addition of CaCl2 increased the germination rate, vigor index and root length of alfalfa under salt stress. Secondly, the addition of CaCl2 reduced the activity of peroxidase, which led to the decrease of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) content and catalase (CAT) activity. From the perspective of anatomical structure, the addition of CaCl2 under salt stress did not promote the elongation growth of alfalfa, which mainly reduced the area of root and leaf cells. Transcription sequencing showed that phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) signal transduction and photosynthesis pathways played a key role in alleviating NaCl stress when CaCl2 was added under salt stress. The up-regulation of genes including peroxidase (POD), chitinase (ChiB) and Light-Harvesting Complex (LHC) could regulate lignin accumulation and ethylene, abscisic acid and H2O2 transfer to defend against salt stress. In conclusion, CaCl2 can regulate the morphological physiology and antioxidant system of alfalfa, effectively alleviate the adverse effects of salt stress, and provide a basis for exploring the regulation of salt tolerance and the mitigation of salt stresshttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1565723/fullsalt stresscalcium chlorideoxidative damagemorphological anatomytranscriptome sequencing
spellingShingle Huhu Liu
Ling Pan
Irshad Ahmad
Yuyu Bai
Sicong Shen
Renhuang Shi
Tingyang Xu
Ying Sun
Yang Gao
Bowen Kang
Yiwen Lu
Xiaoshan Wang
Study on the mechanism of exogenous CaCl2 regulating cell growth and development to alleviate salt tolerance of alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
Frontiers in Plant Science
salt stress
calcium chloride
oxidative damage
morphological anatomy
transcriptome sequencing
title Study on the mechanism of exogenous CaCl2 regulating cell growth and development to alleviate salt tolerance of alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
title_full Study on the mechanism of exogenous CaCl2 regulating cell growth and development to alleviate salt tolerance of alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
title_fullStr Study on the mechanism of exogenous CaCl2 regulating cell growth and development to alleviate salt tolerance of alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
title_full_unstemmed Study on the mechanism of exogenous CaCl2 regulating cell growth and development to alleviate salt tolerance of alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
title_short Study on the mechanism of exogenous CaCl2 regulating cell growth and development to alleviate salt tolerance of alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
title_sort study on the mechanism of exogenous cacl2 regulating cell growth and development to alleviate salt tolerance of alfalfa medicago sativa
topic salt stress
calcium chloride
oxidative damage
morphological anatomy
transcriptome sequencing
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1565723/full
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