Role of jasmonic acid and salicylic acid in salinity stress mitigation in plants

Abstract

Salinity stress is exacerbating across the world, causing physiological, molecular, and biochemical changes in plants. These phenomena can significantly deteriorate crop yield and quality. Phytohormones play vital role to the mitigate environmental stresses that negatively affect plants and help them to tolerate harsh conditions. Of these phytohormones, derivatives of salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) are especially important because they take part in several signal transduction pathways that regulate a wide range of physiological and molecular processes in plants. JA lowers the oxidative stress caused by an increase in hydrogen peroxide in salt-stressed plants by activating the enzymes superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase, which are linked to higher levels of alpha-tocopherol, phenolics, and flavonoids. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity is induced, which explains the rise in phenolics and flavonoids. When plants under salt stress are treated with exogenous SA, the growth inhibition is lowered. Carotenoid content significantly increases as a result of SA-induced antioxidant system activation, but H2O2 concentration, lipid peroxidation, and ion leakage significantly decrease. Consequently, this review offers a clearer picture of the function of JA and SA and shows the potential applications of phytohormonal additives in plant enhancements, such as engineering research to increase plant resistance to salinity stress.