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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1549854
This article is part of the Research Topic Managing Metal Toxicity in Plants and Soil: Strategies for Stress Mitigation and Remediation View all 8 articles
Kiwifruit Sensitivity to Boron: Impact on Physiological and Molecular Responses
Provisionally accepted
LI Dawei 1*
Gudeta Chalchisa 1 Abu Naim Md Muzahid 1
Md Dulal Ali Mollah 1,2 Xiaodong Xie 1 Xiaoying Liu 1 Haiyan Lv 1 Hua Tian 1 Caihong Zhong 1*- 1 Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Wuhan, China
- 2 Department of Agronomy and Medicinal Plants, Faculty of Agriculture, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran
Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient critical for crop growth and productivity. However, excessive boron concentrations can impair plant development, and detoxification remains a significant challenge. Understanding genetic variability and identifying tolerance mechanisms are crucial for developing boron-resistant cultivars. This study explores the physiological and molecular responses of two Actinidia species, namely kiwifruit (A.chinensis) and kiwiberry (A.arguta), to varying levels of excess B. Under excessive B conditions, B accumulation followed the order roots < stems < leaves, with maximum concentrations of 68.6 mg/kg, 105 mg/kg, and 160.7 mg/kg in AC, and 68.2 mg/kg, 107 mg/kg, and 196.9 mg/kg in AA, respectively. B toxicity symptoms appeared in AA when B levels exceeded 50 mg/kg, leading to a 15-20% reduction in dry weight across roots, stems, and leaves. AC exhibited greater sensitivity, with a 20-30% reduction in dry biomass. Both species showed significant declines in chlorophyll a and b content under B stress, with alterations in the chlorophyll a/b ratio and increased oxidative stress. Additionally, stress-responsive genes, including 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase (Actinidia10066) and xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (Actinidia11948), were downregulated in response to B stress, suggesting potential disruptions in growth and development.These findings provide valuable insights into the differential physiological and molecular responses to excess boron in Actinidia species, laying a foundation for functional genomics research and the development of boron-tolerant kiwifruit cultivars.
Keywords: Kiwifruit, B function, Boron stress, physiological response, gene regulation
Received: 22 Dec 2024; Accepted: 24 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dawei, Chalchisa, Muzahid, Mollah, Xie, Liu, Lv, Tian and Zhong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
LI Dawei, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Wuhan, China
Caihong Zhong, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Wuhan, China
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