Abstract
This study investigates how brassinosteroids (BRs) enhance stress tolerance in soybean under combined salt and drought stress by examining growth, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis. Salt and drought stress significantly reduced soybean growth and photosynthetic performance, as reflected by lower SPAD chlorophyll values and decreased photosystem II (PSII) efficiency. In contrast, BR (24-epibrassinolide, EBL) significantly improved growth parameters and spectral indices, indicating a healthier pigment status and improved canopy function. EBL-treated plants also exhibited enhanced PSII performance, as indicated by increased Fv/Fm and a higher performance index (PI). Furthermore, BRs modulated ROS levels and promoted cellular homeostasis by elevating the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as APX, CAT, and POX, thereby mitigating oxidative damage. Consistently, expression of key stress-responsive genes (GmCAT, GmSOD, and GmP5CS) was strongly induced under combined salt, drought, and EBL treatment, highlighting the synergistic role of EBL in transcriptional activation under combined stress. EBL treatment increased the proline content and the activities of ProDH and P5CS, supporting proline-mediated osmoprotection, while BR-treated plants exhibited reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation and electrolyte leakage (EL), indicating lower lipid peroxidation and better membrane integrity under stress. Overall, this study demonstrates that EBL enhances soybean resilience to combined salt and drought stress by improving growth, photosynthetic efficiency, antioxidant defense, osmotic adjustment, and membrane stability.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Salt and drought reduced soybean growth.
- Taxon
- soybean
Glycine maxe0 - Treatment
- Salt and drought stresse0
- Outcome
- soybean growthe0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Salt and drought stress significantly reduced soybean growth and photosynthetic performance”
Claim · model-written summary
Salt and drought reduced photosynthetic performance, with lower SPAD and PSII efficiency.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxe0
- Treatment
- Salt and drought stresse0
- Outcome
- photosynthetic performancee0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Qualifier
- lower SPAD chlorophyll values and decreased photosystem II (PSII) efficiencye0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Salt and drought stress significantly reduced soybean growth and photosynthetic performance, as reflected by lower SPAD chlorophyll values and decreased photosystem II (PSII) efficiency.”
Claim · model-written summary
EBL improved growth parameters and spectral indices.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Treatment
- 24-epibrassinolide, EBLe0
- Outcome
- growth parameters and spectral indicese0
- Direction
- improvede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“BR (24-epibrassinolide, EBL) significantly improved growth parameters and spectral indices”
t0“soybean tolerance”
Claim · model-written summary
EBL increased Fv/Fm and performance index.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Treatment
- EBL-treatede0
- Outcome
- Fv/Fm and a higher performance index (PI)e0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“EBL-treated plants also exhibited enhanced PSII performance, as indicated by increased Fv/Fm and a higher performance index (PI).”
t0“soybean tolerance”
Claim · model-written summary
Brassinosteroids raised APX, CAT and POX activity and modulated ROS.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Treatment
- BRse0
- Gene
- APX, CAT, and POXe0
- Outcome
- activities of antioxidant enzymes such as APX, CAT, and POXe0
- Direction
- elevatinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“BRs modulated ROS levels and promoted cellular homeostasis by elevating the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as APX, CAT, and POX”
t0“soybean tolerance”
Claim · model-written summary
Combined salt, drought and EBL induced expression of GmCAT, GmSOD and GmP5CS.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Treatment
- combined salt, drought, and EBL treatmente0
- Gene
- GmCAT, GmSOD, and GmP5CSe0
- Outcome
- expression of key stress-responsive genese0
- Direction
- strongly inducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“expression of key stress-responsive genes (GmCAT, GmSOD, and GmP5CS) was strongly induced under combined salt, drought, and EBL treatment”
t0“soybean tolerance”
Claim · model-written summary
EBL increased proline content.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Treatment
- EBL treatmente0
- Outcome
- proline contente0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“EBL treatment increased the proline content and the activities of ProDH and P5CS”
t0“soybean tolerance”
Claim · model-written summary
EBL increased ProDH and P5CS activity.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Treatment
- EBL treatmente0
- Gene
- ProDH and P5CSe0
- Outcome
- activities of ProDH and P5CSe0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“EBL treatment increased the proline content and the activities of ProDH and P5CS”
t0“soybean tolerance”
Claim · model-written summary
Brassinosteroid treatment reduced MDA accumulation and electrolyte leakage.
- Taxon
- soybeanGlycine maxt0
- Treatment
- BR-treatede0
- Outcome
- malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation and electrolyte leakage (EL)e0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“BR-treated plants exhibited reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation and electrolyte leakage (EL)”
t0“soybean tolerance”
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See all 116 papers →8 of 10 groups shown: named compounds and organisms first, then groups whose results differ (checked claim by claim), then those with positive and negative results, then the smaller groups.
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.