title: Melatonin enhances plant growth and abiotic stress tolerance in soybean plants.
abstract: Melatonin is a well-known agent that plays multiple roles in animals. Its possible function in plants is less clear. In the present study, we tested the effect of melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) on soybean growth and development. Coating seeds with melatonin significantly promoted soybean growth as judged from leaf size and plant height. This enhancement was also observed in soybean production and their fatty acid content. Melatonin increased pod number and seed number, but not 100-seed weight. Melatonin also improved soybean tolerance to salt and drought stresses. Transcriptome analysis revealed that salt stress inhibited expressions of genes related to binding, oxidoreductase activity/process, and secondary metabolic processes. Melatonin up-regulated expressions of the genes inhibited by salt stress, and hence alleviated the inhibitory effects of salt stress on gene expressions. Further detailed analysis of the affected pathways documents that melatonin probably achieved its promotional roles in soybean through enhancement of genes involved in cell division, photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and ascorbate metabolism. Our results demonstrate that melatonin has significant potential for improvement of soybean growth and seed production. Further study should uncover more about the molecular mechanisms of melatonin's function in soybeans and other crops.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beichen West Road, Campus #1, No.2, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beichen West Road, Campus #1, No.2, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Qing-Tian
authors.initials: QT
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Genome and Precision Medicine Technologies, The DNA Sequencing Technologies R&D Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beichen West Road, Campus #1, No.7, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Ya-Nan
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas 78229-3900, USA.
authors.forename: Russel J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Reiter
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crop and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shiqiao Road No.198, Hangzhou City 310021, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Min
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crop and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shiqiao Road No.198, Hangzhou City 310021, China.
authors.forename: Dan-Hua
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beichen West Road, Campus #1, No.2, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Wan-Ke
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beichen West Road, Campus #1, No.2, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beichen West Road, Campus #1, No.2, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beichen West Road, Campus #1, No.2, Beijing 100101, China sychen@genetics.ac.cn jszhang@genetics.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jin-Song
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beichen West Road, Campus #1, No.2, Beijing 100101, China sychen@genetics.ac.cn jszhang@genetics.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Shou-Yi
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D013025:Glycine max / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; D008550:Melatonin
keywords: Melatonin; soybean; stress tolerance; transcriptome.; yield increase