Salt Stress Mitigation and Field-Relevant Biostimulant Activity of Prosystemin Protein Fragments: Novel Tools for Cutting-Edge Solutions in Agriculture
In an increasingly challenging agricultural environment, the identification of novel tools for protecting crops from stress agents while securing marketable production is a key objective. Here we investigated the effects of three previously characterized Prosystemin-derived functional peptide fragme...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2411 |
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| author | Martina Chiara Criscuolo Raffaele Magliulo Valeria Castaldi Valerio Cirillo Claudio Cristiani Andrea Negroni Anna Maria Aprile Donata Molisso Martina Buonanno Davide Esposito Emma Langella Simona Maria Monti Rosa Rao |
| author_facet | Martina Chiara Criscuolo Raffaele Magliulo Valeria Castaldi Valerio Cirillo Claudio Cristiani Andrea Negroni Anna Maria Aprile Donata Molisso Martina Buonanno Davide Esposito Emma Langella Simona Maria Monti Rosa Rao |
| author_sort | Martina Chiara Criscuolo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In an increasingly challenging agricultural environment, the identification of novel tools for protecting crops from stress agents while securing marketable production is a key objective. Here we investigated the effects of three previously characterized Prosystemin-derived functional peptide fragments as protective agents against salt stress and as biostimulants modulating tomato yield and quality traits. The treatments of tomato plants with femtomolar amounts of the peptides alleviated salt stress symptoms, likely due to an increase in root biomass up to 18% and the upregulation of key antioxidant genes such as APX2 and HSP90. In addition, the peptides exhibited biostimulant activity, significantly improving root area (up to 10%) and shoot growth (up to 9%). We validated such activities through two-year field trials carried out on industrial tomato crops. Peptide treatments confirmed their biostimulant effects, leading to a nearly 50% increase in marketable production compared to a commonly used commercial product and consistently enhancing fruit °Brix values. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dac04e7e00064caab42fb8690d85c074 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj-art-dac04e7e00064caab42fb8690d85c0742025-08-20T03:36:22ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-08-011415241110.3390/plants14152411Salt Stress Mitigation and Field-Relevant Biostimulant Activity of Prosystemin Protein Fragments: Novel Tools for Cutting-Edge Solutions in AgricultureMartina Chiara Criscuolo0Raffaele Magliulo1Valeria Castaldi2Valerio Cirillo3Claudio Cristiani4Andrea Negroni5Anna Maria Aprile6Donata Molisso7Martina Buonanno8Davide Esposito9Emma Langella10Simona Maria Monti11Rosa Rao12Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyConsorzi Agrari D’Italia, San Giorgio di Piano via Centese 5/3, 40016 Bologna, ItalyConsorzi Agrari D’Italia, San Giorgio di Piano via Centese 5/3, 40016 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyInstitute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, National Research Council (IBB-CNR), via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, ItalyInstitute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, National Research Council (IBB-CNR), via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, ItalyInstitute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, National Research Council (IBB-CNR), via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, ItalyInstitute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, National Research Council (IBB-CNR), via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, ItalyIn an increasingly challenging agricultural environment, the identification of novel tools for protecting crops from stress agents while securing marketable production is a key objective. Here we investigated the effects of three previously characterized Prosystemin-derived functional peptide fragments as protective agents against salt stress and as biostimulants modulating tomato yield and quality traits. The treatments of tomato plants with femtomolar amounts of the peptides alleviated salt stress symptoms, likely due to an increase in root biomass up to 18% and the upregulation of key antioxidant genes such as APX2 and HSP90. In addition, the peptides exhibited biostimulant activity, significantly improving root area (up to 10%) and shoot growth (up to 9%). We validated such activities through two-year field trials carried out on industrial tomato crops. Peptide treatments confirmed their biostimulant effects, leading to a nearly 50% increase in marketable production compared to a commonly used commercial product and consistently enhancing fruit °Brix values.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2411protein fragmentsbioactive peptidessalt stressfield trialstomatosustainability |
| spellingShingle | Martina Chiara Criscuolo Raffaele Magliulo Valeria Castaldi Valerio Cirillo Claudio Cristiani Andrea Negroni Anna Maria Aprile Donata Molisso Martina Buonanno Davide Esposito Emma Langella Simona Maria Monti Rosa Rao Salt Stress Mitigation and Field-Relevant Biostimulant Activity of Prosystemin Protein Fragments: Novel Tools for Cutting-Edge Solutions in Agriculture Plants protein fragments bioactive peptides salt stress field trials tomato sustainability |
| title | Salt Stress Mitigation and Field-Relevant Biostimulant Activity of Prosystemin Protein Fragments: Novel Tools for Cutting-Edge Solutions in Agriculture |
| title_full | Salt Stress Mitigation and Field-Relevant Biostimulant Activity of Prosystemin Protein Fragments: Novel Tools for Cutting-Edge Solutions in Agriculture |
| title_fullStr | Salt Stress Mitigation and Field-Relevant Biostimulant Activity of Prosystemin Protein Fragments: Novel Tools for Cutting-Edge Solutions in Agriculture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Salt Stress Mitigation and Field-Relevant Biostimulant Activity of Prosystemin Protein Fragments: Novel Tools for Cutting-Edge Solutions in Agriculture |
| title_short | Salt Stress Mitigation and Field-Relevant Biostimulant Activity of Prosystemin Protein Fragments: Novel Tools for Cutting-Edge Solutions in Agriculture |
| title_sort | salt stress mitigation and field relevant biostimulant activity of prosystemin protein fragments novel tools for cutting edge solutions in agriculture |
| topic | protein fragments bioactive peptides salt stress field trials tomato sustainability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2411 |
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