Sodium nitroprusside enhances regeneration and alleviates salinity stress in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]

SNP (Sodium nitroprusside) a Nitric oxide (NO) donor, plays varied roles in the growth and development of plants. Hence, in the present study, we have demonstrated that SNP enhances regeneration in half-seed explants of soybean cv. PUSA 9712, when cultured in Shoot Induction Medium (SIM) containing 4.44 mu M BA and 30 mu M SNP. About (91.0) % of explants formed shoots in the presence of SNP, compared to (76.33) % as observed on SIM with 4.44 mu M BA alone. Supplementation of 30 mu M SNP in rooting medium (RM) containing 4.93 mu M IBA, produced the highest number of rooted plantlets. The plants regenerated in the presence of SNP displayed improved characteristics (mean shoot length = 9.21 cm, mean root length = 14.19 cm) as compared to plants regenerated in control medium devoid of SNP. Salinity stress studies revealed that, application of 50 mu M SNP, reduces browning, drying of soybean tissues and increased the plant survivability, further analysis revealed that supplementation of SNP results in stabilization of Na+ and K+ ion ratio, activates SOD, CAT enzyme expression and reduce the concentrations of MDA and H2O2, thereby reversing the effects of salinity stress. These results signify that SNP enhances regeneration and development rate of soybean plants, and application of SNP alleviates salinity stress manifested by NaCl.