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ABSTRACT
Phytohormones are essential regulators that control both plant growth and defense mechanisms, with cytokinins (CKs) playing a crucial role in regulating antioxidants. However, conflicting research results regarding their effect on antioxidants require further investigation. This study addresses the effects of cis-zeatin (cZ), a type of CK, and its inhibitor lovastatin (LT) on the antioxidant system of 29-day-old Zea mays plants. Seedlings were treated by aerial spraying with 5 M cZ, LT, or their combination (cZ-LT) five days after planting. The results showed that cZ significantly increased growth performance, antioxidant activity and photosynthesis efficiency. cZ treatment increased the accumulation of osmolytes (including total phenolics, total flavonoids, proline, and total soluble proteins), resulting in larger leaves, longer shoots, and increased biomass while reducing root length and biomass, respectively. In contrast, LT treatments resulted in reductions in leaf size, shoot length, and biomass, as well as impairment in photosynthesis rates. LT-treated seedlings showed reduced osmolyte accumulation but increased antioxidant enzymatic activity, which contributed to an increase in electrolyte leakage. Examination of phytohormonal crosstalk showed that cZ treatment increased endogenous GA4 and cZ levels while decreasing IAA levels, while LT had opposite effects. These results provide insights into the complex interplay of phytohormones in modulating both plant growth and antioxidant defense mechanisms.
Acknowledgments
The work was supported by Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R182), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Author contributions
The author's contributions are: (1) Muhammad Junaid Yousaf conducted research and wrote a draft manuscript. (2) Anwar Hussain & Muhammad Hamayun supervised the work. (3) Mohamed A. El-Sheikh and Hosam O. Elansary provided financial support. (4) Ho- Youn Kim provided assistance in statistical analysis.
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author (Anwar Hussain).
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Muhammad Junaid Yousaf
Mr. Muhammad Junaid Yousaf
Education and Employment: He is a PhD Scholar in Abdul Wali Khan University in the Department of Botany.
Achievements: Has more than 20 ISI publications in prestigious Q1 and Q2 journals in the fields of Microbial phytohormones (bacterial and cyanobacterial), Plant-microbe interaction, Phytopathology and Molecular biology.
Anwar Hussain
Prof. Dr. Anwar Hussain
Education and Employment: Current Professor at the Department of Botany, Abdul Wali Khan University. Previous Lecturer in Govt. Degree College, Turo Mardan, NWFP from November 2007 to September 2011, also served as Part time lecturer in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics University of the Punjab, Lahore (October 2006–September 2008), and Higher Education Scholarship under 5000 Indigenous Scholarship programme, Batch-II (2005). He also served as research associate at Higher Education Scholarship (IRSIP) for six months international studies in Germany, Department of Pharmaceutical biology Julius-Maxmilians University Wurzburg (2008–2009).
Achievements: Has more than 100 ISI publications in prestigious Q1 and Q2 journals in the fields of Microbial phytohormones (bacterial and cyanobacterial), Plant-microbe interaction, Phytopathology, Molecular biology, and Genetics. He was selected as an editorial board of several international journals.
Muhammad Hamayun
Muhammad Hamayun
Education
Post-Doctorate (27 August 2008–1 June 2010)
School of Applied Biosciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Kyungpook National University, South Korea
PhD (Agriculture) August 2008
Institution: School of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, South Korea Thesis: Physio-hormonal changes in soybean as influenced by salinity, drought and gibberellin producing fungi
PhD (Plant science) June 2005
Institution: Department of Biological Science, Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan
Thesis: Studies on ethnobotany, conservation and plant diversity of Utror and Gabral valleys, district Swat, Pakistan
Professional experience
Chairman Department of Botany: 25 September 2018–till date, Department of Botany, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Pakistan
Chairman Department of Botany: 9 September 2010–27 April 2016, Department of Botany, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Pakistan
Professor (Tenured): 13 October 2015–till date, Department of Botany, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Pakistan
Editorial/Reviewer Experience
Editor-in-Chief, Pakhtunkhwa Journal of Life Science (ISSN: 2304-8182)
Associate editor, Journal of Medicinal Plants Research (ISSN: 1996-0875)
Associate Editor, Biosciences Biotechnology Research Asia (ISSN: 0973-1245)
Editor, Journal of Botany, Hindawi Publishing Corporation (ISSN: 2090-0120)
Editor, Korean Journal of Life Science (ISSN: 1225-9918)
Editor, Academic Journal of Agricultural Sciences (http://www.xournals.com/academic-journal-of-agricultural-sciences/info/editorial-board)
Mohamed A. El-Sheikh
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdelraouf El-Sheikh working as a Professor of Plant Ecology in the Department of Botany & Microbiology, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. He received PhD degree in Botany with special emphasis in Plant Ecology from Tanta University, Egypt. He has done postdoctoral research at Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Dr. El-Sheikh also visited Institute for Water and Wetland Research (IWW), Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands and MSARYK University, Brno, Czech Republic to learn the multivariate analysis programs for Ecoinformatics. He has several MSc and PhD students (30).
His current research focuses on Plant diversity, Floristic analysis, Vegetation analysis, Vegetation Data Base, Population ecology, Plant succession, Phytoremediation; Conservation of the vegetation in Kuwait, Gaza, Oman, Egyptian Mediterranean coast, and Nile Delta and Saudi Arabia.
He is actively engaged in several scientific projects and has been successfully completed. He has published over 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals of international repute and with RG index of 30.91. He holds life membership of several academic societies e.g. International Association of Vegetation Science (IAVS), European vegetation Science, European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG), etc. He is in the editorial board of Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences Editorial Board (2010–2017) published by Elsevier.
Hosam O. Elansary
Dr. Hosam O. Elansary
Education and Employment: Current Professor at the Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University. Previous visiting faculty at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Canada. He was a PhD graduate of the faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague (one of the world top 200 Universities).
Scientific collaboration: During his study in Europe, he worked on a project between USA & the Czech Academy of Sciences and has several impacted publications in the field of plant physiology, biochemistry and biodiversity. He launched a national volunteering barcoding project aimed to barcode herbs, shrubs and trees especially ornamentals in Egypt since 2010 and up to now in collaboration with the University of Guelph in Canada.
Achievements: Has more than 100 ISI publications in prestigious Q1 and Q2 journals in the fields of plant physiology and molecular Biology. Current Academic Editor in Molecules – MDPI journal. He was selected as the ambassador of the Society of Experimental Biology located in London; the society is considered as the main biological mass of scientists in Europe. He was selected as an editorial board of several international journals.
Projects: He participated either as a PI, Co-PI and as a consultant in several local and international projects like EIFAD & TreeBOL. Finally, he established EgyptBOL to be a big umbrella for Egyptian barcoders and to witness the birth of Egypt Barcode of Life dream (egyptbol.org).
Keywords: Plant Physiology, Plant Molecular Biology, Genetics, Ecology, medicinal plants, antioxidants, horticultural crops.