Metabolic Regulation and Molecular Mechanism of Salt Stress Response in Salt-Tolerant Astragalus mongholicus

作者：Yuxiao Liu, Jinhua Sheng, Jiaqing Yang, Xingcong Li · 发表于：Applied Sciences · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3390/app15052575 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance、Food Quality and Safety Studies、Agriculture, Soil, Plant Science

Astragalus mongholicus, an important medicinal plant species, exhibits low tolerance to high-salt environments, which restricts its growth in saline–alkaline areas. Understanding its salt-tolerance mechanisms is crucial for overcoming the technical challenges of industrialized cultivation in these regions. However, studies on the salt-tolerance mechanisms of Astragalus mongholicus are limited. This study examines two Astragalus mongholicus germplasms with distinct differences in salt tolerance (LQ: salt-tolerant, DT: salt-sensitive), and investigates their physiological adaptations and molecular mechanisms under salt stress (200 mmol/L NaCl) using an integrated analysis of morphology, physiology, metabolomics, and transcriptomics. Specifically, LQ showed smaller reductions in plant height, root length, root thickness, and fresh weight (29.0%, 5.0%, 2.8%, and 22.3%, respectively), compared to DT, which exhibited larger reductions (42.9%, 44.9%, 46.3%, and 41.4%, respectively). The results indicated that the salt-tolerant germplasm (LQ) enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities in response to salt stress, including SOD, POD, and CAT, and accumulating osmoregulatory substances. In LQ, the activities of SOD, POD, and CAT increased by 22.8%, 10.9%, and 8.8%, respectively, significantly higher than those of DT, which showed increases of 2.9%, 8.5%, and 1.4% in SOD, POD, and CAT activities, respectively. The contents of soluble sugar and protein in LQ increased by 2-fold and 16.9%, res...