Peer review

Accepted manuscript

The experiment was conducted to appraise whether exogenously applied selenium (Se) could alter nutrients acquisition and metabolism to mitigate the toxic effects of salinity in wheat. Seeds of two contrasting wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars (Auqab-2000 and Seher-2006) were pre-treated with different concentrations (0, 50, 100 µM) of sodium selenate for 12 h. The pots were irrigated with different NaCl concentrations (0 and 150 mM) applied through Hoagland’s nutrient solution before sowing. Salinity reduced fresh and dry mass and grain yield, but the exogenous Se restored the growth and increased grain yield. Further, salt stress decreased the concentrations of K+, Ca2+, P, N, Fe and Se while increased the concentration of Na+ and Cl‒ in the shoots and roots of wheat. The exogenous Se increased K+, Ca2+, N, Fe and Se concentrations while decreased Na+, Cl− and P, and thus mainly reversed the inhibitory effects of salinity on nutrients uptake. Further, exogenous Se increased the accumulation of proline and glycinebetaine under salinity. Overall, Se-priming proved an effective shotgun technique to mitigate the detrimental effects of salinity possibly through its beneficial effects on tissue-specific ion acquisition and accumulation of osmoprotectants in wheat.

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