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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  0, Vol. Issue (): 0-    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2025.08.014
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Strigolactones enhances fodder soybean (Glycine max) adaptation to drought by GmPP2C56 mediating ABA signaling pathway

Along Chen1*, Xiashun Liu2*, Qinyi Wang2*, Qianhan Zhao2, Qiyun Wei2, Xueying Zhao1, Yujiao Liu4, Bing Li2, Lulu He2, Yuchen Han2, Haonan Qin2, Jikai Li3, Fuchun Xie2#, Yajun Chen1#

1 College of Horticulture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China

2 College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China

3 Institute of Grass Research, Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150030, China

4 Fujian Zhongke Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., Xiamen 361009, China

 Highlights 

l Exogenous strigolactones had a positive effect on drought tolerance of fodder soybean by improving morphological structure, anti-oxidation capability, and photosynthetic efficiency.

l Exogenous strigolactones regulated the expression levels of hormone signaling pathway genes, especially the ABA pathway, to enhance drought tolerance.

GmPP2C56 plays a key role in strigolactones mediated drought resistance by negatively regulating the ABA signaling.

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摘要  

干旱胁迫是影响植物生长、发育和生产力的最重要非生物限制因素之一。秣食豆Glycine max)是一种营养价值高的饲料作物,在土壤水分亏缺条件下,其产量和质量都会大幅下降。独脚金内酯(Strigolactones)是一类新型植物激素,在植物的多种发育过程中发挥着关键的调节作用。然而,独脚金内酯介导秣食豆缓解干旱胁迫的机制尚不清楚。本研究证明,外源独脚金内酯的应用不仅能提高光合参数和叶绿素含量,还能通过多种机制提高耐旱性:调节气孔关闭、积累渗透调节物质以及增强抗氧化能力。整合转录组分析及后续验证表明,独脚金内酯通过调节植物激素信号通路,特别是脱落酸(ABA)信号通路,增强饲料大豆的耐旱性。此外,通过加权基因共表达网络分析(WGCNA)确定了 GmPP2C56 为关键候选基因,其在耐旱性中的关键作用得到了功能验证。我们的研究结果表明,GmPP2C56 通过负向调节脱落酸信号传导显著增强了秣食豆的耐旱性。这项研究为通过外源激素应用提高植物耐旱性提供了理论基础,并为干旱条件下秣食豆的育种和栽培提出了创新策略。



Abstract  

Drought stress represents one of the most significant abiotic constraints on plant growth, development, and productivity. Fodder soybean (Glycine max), a high-nutritional-value forage crop, experiences substantial reductions in both yield and quality under soil water deficit conditions. Strigolactones (SLs), a novel class of plant hormones, play crucial regulatory roles in various plant developmental processes. However, the mechanisms underlying SLs-mediated drought stress alleviation in fodder soybean remain poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that exogenous SLs application not only enhanced photosynthetic parameters and chlorophyll content but also improved drought tolerance through multiple mechanisms: regulating stomatal closure, accumulating osmoregulatory substances, and enhancing antioxidant capacity. Integrated transcriptomic analysis and subsequent validation revealed that SLs augment drought tolerance by modulating phytohormone signaling pathways, particularly the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway. Furthermore, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified GmPP2C56 as a key candidate gene, whose pivotal role in drought tolerance was functionally validated. Our results demonstrate that GmPP2C56 significantly enhances drought tolerance by negatively regulating ABA signaling. This investigation provides a theoretical foundation for improving plant drought tolerance through exogenous hormone application and proposes innovative strategies for fodder soybeans breeding and cultivation under arid conditions.

Keywords:  strigolactones              drought stress       fodder soybean       ABA signaling pathway       GmPP2C56 gene  
Online: 19 August 2025  
Fund: 

This research was supported by the China’s National Key R&D Program (2022YFD1600501-07) and the College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program at Northeast Agriculture University, China.

About author:  #Correspondience Yajun Chen, E-mail: chenyajun622@neau.edu.cn; Fuchun Xie, E-mail: xfc204309@neau.edu.cn * These authors contributed equally to this work.

Cite this article: 

Along Chen, Xiashun Liu, Qinyi Wang, Qianhan Zhao, Qiyun Wei, Xueying Zhao, Yujiao Liu, Bing Li, Lulu He, Yuchen Han, Haonan Qin, Jikai Li, Fuchun Xie, Yajun Chen. 2025. Strigolactones enhances fodder soybean (Glycine max) adaptation to drought by GmPP2C56 mediating ABA signaling pathway. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Doi:10.1016/j.jia.2025.08.014

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