Cyclic 3-Hidroksimelatonin’in Tuz ve Su Stresi Altında Biber Tohumu Çimlenmesi Üzerine Etkileri

Abiotic stresses reduce seed germination by increasing deterioration of seed quality, reducing germination potential and seed viability. Therefore, it is important to improve seed germination under abiotic stress conditions. Melatonin has been shown to play an active role in the acquisition of tolerance to various abiotic stress factors in plants. However, limited studies have been conducted on the possible roles of melatonin metabolites in plants and the results suggests that these metabolites may also function similarly to melatonin. Therefore, in this study, the effects of cyclic 3-hydroxymelatonin (3-ohm), a melatonin metabolite, on seed germination under stress conditions (drought and salt stress) were investigated. For this purpose, pepper seeds treated with 3-ohm at different concentrations (0 μM, 10 μM, 50 μM and 100 μM) were subjected to germination test under salt (0, 75, 100 and 125 mM NaCl) and water (0, 75 and 100 gL⁻¹ PEG 6000) stresses. As a result of the study, all concentrations of 3-ohm treatments increased the germination percentage, germination uniformity, germination rate, root length and vigor index of pepper seeds subjected to germination test under salt and water stress compared to control treatment. It was also concluded that 3-ohm has a melatonin-like function in increasing tolerance to salt and water stresses at the germination stage in pepper and plays an active role in increasing stress tolerance by acting as an antioxidant.