@Article{phyton.2025.062410,
AUTHOR = {Blanca Olivia Trejo-Paniagua, Nancy Ruiz-Lau, María Goretty Caamal-Chan, Rosa Isela Cruz-Rodríguez, Anayancy Lam-Gutiérrez, Víctor Manuel Ruíz-Valdiviezo},
TITLE = {Effect of Proline Pretreatment on the Water Stress Response in “Siete Caldos” Pepper Plants},
JOURNAL = {Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany},
VOLUME = {94},
YEAR = {2025},
NUMBER = {3},
PAGES = {861--873},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/phyton/v94n3/60212},
ISSN = {1851-5657},
ABSTRACT = {Exogenous proline is an effective agent for increasing plant tolerance to abiotic stress in plants. In this study, we evaluated its effect on seedlings of Siete Caldos chili pepper (<i>Capsicum frutescens</i>), a semi-domesticated variety. The Capsicum genus is known for its sensitivity to water stress. We pretreated the seedlings’ roots by immersing them in proline solutions (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 mM) for 48 h. Then, we exposed them to water stress using a Hoagland nutrient solution supplemented with 10% polyethylene glycol (PEG-8000) for nine days. We analyzed key physiological and biochemical parameters, including relative water content, cell membrane stability index, electrolyte leakage, chlorophyll, and proline content. The results indicated that proline concentrations of 2.5 and 5 mM significantly increased tolerance to water stress, with 100% survival. These seedlings maintained greater hydration and cell membrane stability compared to non-pretreated seedlings. In contrast, at the highest concentrations (7.5 and 10 mM Pro), survival was 63.63% and 54.54%, respectively. This study demonstrated that exogenous proline enhances water stress tolerance in <i>Capsicum frutescens</i> seedlings by mitigating the negative impact on physiological and biochemical processes vital for survival. This theoretical foundation can be applied to improve chili seedling performance in controlled production environments.},
DOI = {10.32604/phyton.2025.062410}
}