Harnessing GABA Pathways to Improve Plant Resilience Against Salt Stress

Salinity has emerged as a critical abiotic stress factor, significantly limiting the growth, productivity, and quality of many crop species. As the global salinization of agricultural land continues to intensify, it is crucial to explore effective mitigation strategies to sustain crop yields. γ-Amin...

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Main Authors: Jameel Mohammed Al-Khayri, Mohamed Abdel-Haleem, Emad Hamdy Khedr
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Horticulturae
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/10/12/1296
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author Jameel Mohammed Al-Khayri
Mohamed Abdel-Haleem
Emad Hamdy Khedr
author_facet Jameel Mohammed Al-Khayri
Mohamed Abdel-Haleem
Emad Hamdy Khedr
author_sort Jameel Mohammed Al-Khayri
collection DOAJ
description Salinity has emerged as a critical abiotic stress factor, significantly limiting the growth, productivity, and quality of many crop species. As the global salinization of agricultural land continues to intensify, it is crucial to explore effective mitigation strategies to sustain crop yields. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a non-protein amino acid, is present in a variety of organisms, including plants, where it fulfills diverse roles under both optimal and stress conditions. In plants, GABA is intricately involved in nitrogen metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, and the regulation of primary and secondary metabolic pathways. Functioning through the GABA shunt, it provides the carbon skeletons and energy required for biosynthetic processes and is vital for the regulation of carbon and nitrogen balance. Under abiotic stress conditions, particularly salinity, GABA rapidly accumulates, facilitating several protective mechanisms that help plants cope with stress. These include enhancing osmotic adjustment through the accumulation of osmolytes, protecting cellular structures such as chloroplasts, and improving chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic efficiency. Moreover, GABA has been shown to boost antioxidant enzyme activity, reducing oxidative stress and mitigating the damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) under salinity conditions. This study explores the multifaceted role of GABA in plants under saline environments, with a focus on its physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms in enhancing plant resilience. By elucidating these mechanisms, we aim to highlight the potential of GABA as a natural biostimulant to improve crop performance and sustainability in saline soils.
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spelling doaj-art-8b9edb30bca44e8a93107184e289f11c2024-12-27T14:29:12ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242024-12-011012129610.3390/horticulturae10121296Harnessing GABA Pathways to Improve Plant Resilience Against Salt StressJameel Mohammed Al-Khayri0Mohamed Abdel-Haleem1Emad Hamdy Khedr2Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, EgyptDepartment of Pomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, EgyptSalinity has emerged as a critical abiotic stress factor, significantly limiting the growth, productivity, and quality of many crop species. As the global salinization of agricultural land continues to intensify, it is crucial to explore effective mitigation strategies to sustain crop yields. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a non-protein amino acid, is present in a variety of organisms, including plants, where it fulfills diverse roles under both optimal and stress conditions. In plants, GABA is intricately involved in nitrogen metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, and the regulation of primary and secondary metabolic pathways. Functioning through the GABA shunt, it provides the carbon skeletons and energy required for biosynthetic processes and is vital for the regulation of carbon and nitrogen balance. Under abiotic stress conditions, particularly salinity, GABA rapidly accumulates, facilitating several protective mechanisms that help plants cope with stress. These include enhancing osmotic adjustment through the accumulation of osmolytes, protecting cellular structures such as chloroplasts, and improving chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic efficiency. Moreover, GABA has been shown to boost antioxidant enzyme activity, reducing oxidative stress and mitigating the damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) under salinity conditions. This study explores the multifaceted role of GABA in plants under saline environments, with a focus on its physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms in enhancing plant resilience. By elucidating these mechanisms, we aim to highlight the potential of GABA as a natural biostimulant to improve crop performance and sustainability in saline soils.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/10/12/1296abiotic stressγ-aminobutyric acidROSantioxidantstoleranceplants
spellingShingle Jameel Mohammed Al-Khayri
Mohamed Abdel-Haleem
Emad Hamdy Khedr
Harnessing GABA Pathways to Improve Plant Resilience Against Salt Stress
Horticulturae
abiotic stress
γ-aminobutyric acid
ROS
antioxidants
tolerance
plants
title Harnessing GABA Pathways to Improve Plant Resilience Against Salt Stress
title_full Harnessing GABA Pathways to Improve Plant Resilience Against Salt Stress
title_fullStr Harnessing GABA Pathways to Improve Plant Resilience Against Salt Stress
title_full_unstemmed Harnessing GABA Pathways to Improve Plant Resilience Against Salt Stress
title_short Harnessing GABA Pathways to Improve Plant Resilience Against Salt Stress
title_sort harnessing gaba pathways to improve plant resilience against salt stress
topic abiotic stress
γ-aminobutyric acid
ROS
antioxidants
tolerance
plants
url https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/10/12/1296
work_keys_str_mv AT jameelmohammedalkhayri harnessinggabapathwaystoimproveplantresilienceagainstsaltstress
AT mohamedabdelhaleem harnessinggabapathwaystoimproveplantresilienceagainstsaltstress
AT emadhamdykhedr harnessinggabapathwaystoimproveplantresilienceagainstsaltstress