Melatonin Stimulates Activities and Expression Level of Antioxidant Enzymes and Preserves Functionality of Photosynthetic Apparatus in Hickory Plants (Carya cathayensis Sarg.) under PEG-Promoted Drought

Nowadays, drought is one of the major abiotic factors which negatively affects growth and development of several fruit tree species, including Chinese hickory plants (Carya cathayensis Sarg.). The present investigation was conducted to study the possible positive effects of melatonin in drought resistance of C. cathayensis plants along with associated mechanisms. It was observed that melatonin pre-treatment applied before limited water availability significantly contrasted drought-promoted negative effects in terms of plant growth and physiological responses. Significant improvement was observed in key biological parameters like relative water content, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, maximum photosynthetic efficiency of photosystem II (PSII), and PSII electron transport rate. Antioxidant apparatus was also stimulated by melatonin and enhanced activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were noticed along with higher accumulation of proline. Gene expression studies herein revealed that melatonin promoted the up-regulation of the expression of SOD (70.7%), CAT (32.7%), and APX (66.5%) genes. As a consequence, accumulation of malondialdehyde by-products and leaf symptoms were reduced in melatonin-treated plants. All these observations offer the clear evidence that pre-treatment with melatonin ameliorate the performance of Chinese hickory plants against drought stress.