4th Edition Of Plant Science and Molecular Biology World Conference 2027

Abstract

Soil salinity is a major constraint on legume productivity, yet the salt response of Clitoria ternatea, a nitrogen-fixing, multipurpose legume, remains poorly understood at the physiological and proteome levels. Here we combined physiological and biochemical profiling with LC-MS/MS proteomics to compare leaf and root responses to 0, 50, 150 and 200 mM NaCl. Plants tolerated up to 150 mM, whereas 200 mM caused severe damage, with leaf hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde increasing about 4- and 3-fold. The root absorbed the initial stress: Na⁺ rose 6-, 63- and 180-fold, K⁺ declined to 7% of the control, and relative water content fell by 51% at 200 mM. The leaf compensated through K⁺ accumulation (2.8-fold at 150 mM) and a tendency towards higher proline. Proteomics identified 132 leaf and 49 root proteins with altered abundance. In leaf, carbon-fixation proteins, including the Rubisco small subunit, increased at 50 mM (about 16-fold), whereas photosynthetic, energy-metabolism and translation proteins declined sharply at 150 to 200 mM (Rubisco activase 250- to 400-fold lower). In root, ROS-recycling enzymes (dehydroascorbate reductase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, peroxiredoxin), sugar metabolism (beta-amylase) and ER-folding proteins decreased markedly, whereas Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase increased about 3-fold, consistent with higher root SOD activity and in contrast to its decline in leaf. At 200 mM, all proteins shared by the two organs decreased. These results indicate organ-specific salt-response strategies in C. ternatea: the root buffers ionic and osmotic stress, and the leaf adjusts ion balance, osmolytes and photosynthesis, until both systems fail at 200 mM. The proteins identified provide candidates for transcript-level validation and for screening salt tolerance.
Keywords: Clitoria ternatea; salt stress; proteomics; LC-MS/MS; antioxidant enzymes; organ-specific response