Enzyme evolution and antioxidant defense in salt-stressed Kunthali rice: A pathway to sustainable biocatalytic...

Kunthali (KTL), an indigenous rice variety from Tamil Nadu, India, was tested for its salt-tolerant capacity compared to commercial rice variety, IR64. Present study uncovered that KTL had a more effective response to salinity stress stimulus, as this cultivar uses reactive oxygen species scavenging mechanism through antioxidative enzymes like Superoxide dismutase, Catalase and Peroxidase. While KTL had lower levels of these enzymes compared to IR64, showed better modulation of total chlorophyll, carotenoids, anthocyanin, hydrogen peroxide, ascorbic acid, malondialdehyde, and proline contents also showed significant (p < 0.05) moderation upon salinity stress. In KTL, there was a significant correlation between the levels of H₂O₂ and antioxidant enzymes activity, which was not observed inIR64. Morphological, functional and biochemical investigations unveiled KTL as a promising candidate for salt-tolerance in TN, India. Advanced analysis using deep and machine learning techniques was used to analyze and predict the features essential for sustaining the salinity stress condition in rice. Principal component analysis and factor loadings provided a better understanding of salt-tolerant rice variables and placed apart the salt-sensitive rice. Correlation and regression charts gave a clear variable relationship between salt-tolerant and separated salt-sensitive rice. Comparatively, deep neural networks (DNN) predicted better features and models than machine learning techniques.