Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 26, 2025

Imaging and Analysis for Quantifying Maize (Zea mays) Abiotic Stress Phenotypes
Published on: March 28, 2025
Volatile organic compounds produced by Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes alleviated drought stress by modulating defense
Humaira Yasmin1, Urooj Rashid1, Muhammad Nadeem Hassan1
1Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Abstract:
Research on plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPR) revealed an effective role of bacterial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in stress alleviation. Out of 15 PGPR strains, infection with VOCs from Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes' resulted in maximum germination, growth promotion, and drought tolerance in maize plants. The VOCs of P. pseudoalcaligenes caused induced systemic tolerance in maize plants during 7 days of drought stress. The VOCs exposed plants displayed resistance to drought stress by reducing electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content and increasing the synthesis of photosynthetic pigments, proline, and phytohormones contents. Maize plants revealed enhanced resistance by showing higher activities of antioxidant defense enzymes both in shoots and roots under drought stress. Activities of antioxidant enzymes were more pronounced in shoots than roots. Gas chromatography and mass spectrophotometric (GC-MS) analysis comparing VOCs produced by the most efficient P. pseudoalcaligenes strain and inefficient strains of Pseudomonas sp. grown in culture media revealed nine compounds that they had in common. However, dimethyl disulfide, 2,3-butanediol, and 2-pentylfuran were detected only in P. pseudoalcaligenes, indicating these compounds are potential candidates for drought stress induction. Further studies are needed to unravel the molecular mechanisms of VOCs-mediated systemic drought tolerance in plants related to each identified VOC.
More Related Videos
08:31Kinematic Analysis of Cell Division and Expansion: Quantifying the Cellular Basis of Growth and Sampling Developmental Zones in Zea mays Leaves
Published on: December 2, 2016
05:03Author Spotlight: Advancing Stomatal Research with Automated Aperture Measurement
Published on: February 9, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Responses to Drought and Flooding
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Responses to Salt Stress
Regulation of Transpiration by Stomata
C4 Pathway and CAM
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
Introduction to Plant Diversity