Silicon-mediated regulation of antioxidant defense and glyoxalase systems confers drought stress tolerance in Brassica napus L.

Drought stress is considered as a major constraint for the production of crops around the world; therefore we need some mechanistic strategies to cope drought stress adverse effects. Silicon (Si) plays a vital role in major physiological, metabolic, and/or functional roles in plants facing abiotic stress conditions as an essential mineral nutrient. In the current study, we investigated Si-induced physiological role in plants exposed to moderate and short-term drought exposure (induced by polyethylene glycol, PEG). Exogenous application of Si (1 mM SiO2) significantly induced tolerance under short term drought (10 and 20% PEG) exposure. Silicon protects photosynthetic pigments and decreased oxidative stress (decreased lipid peroxidation and H2O2 accumulation) due to the increase in ascorbate (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) pool; activity…