Dual defense: melatonin simultaneously mitigates cadmium toxicity and southern blight in peanut.

ABSTRACT: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), a vital oilseed crop, faces severe yield losses from Southern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii) and cadmium (Cd) contamination in agricultural soils. While crops often endure combined abiotic-biotic stresses in nature, synergistic solutions remain limited. Here, we investigated melatonin's dual role in enhancing Cd detoxification and disease resistance using physiological assays and LC-MS metabolomics in peanut seedlings. Under combined stress (1 mM CdCl₂ + S. rolfsii), melatonin treatment reduced disease incidence by 75% and Cd accumulation by 57% (roots) and 37% (shoots). Mechanistically, melatonin upregulated jasmonic acid biosynthesis genes (AhLOX7, AhOPR3) and ABC transporter genes (ABCC3, ABCC4), potentiated the an

SUBMITTER: Sang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12571740 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature