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Functional Plant Biology Functional Plant Biology Society
Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Blue light regulated lignin and cellulose content of soybean petioles and stems under low light intensity

Wei He https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0226-8663 A , Qiang Chai A B * , Cai Zhao A , Aizhong Yu A B , Zhilong Fan A B , Wen Yin A B , Falong Hu A B , Hong Fan A , Yali Sun A and Feng Wang A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, People’s Republic of China.

B College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, People’s Republic of China.

* Correspondence to: chaiq@gsau.edu.cn

Handling Editor: Rosa Rivero

Functional Plant Biology 51, FP23091 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP23091
Submitted: 20 April 2023  Accepted: 10 February 2024  Published: 26 April 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

To improve light harvest and plant structural support under low light intensity, it is useful to investigate the effects of different ratios of blue light on petiole and stem growth. Two true leaves of soybean seedlings were exposed to a total light intensity of 200 μmol m−2 s−1, presented as either white light or three levels of blue light (40 μmol m−2 s−1, 67 μmol m−2 s−1 and 100 μmol m−2 s−1) for 15 days. Soybean petioles under the low blue light treatment upregulated expression of genes relating to lignin metabolism, enhancing lignin content compared with the white light treatment. The low blue light treatment had high petiole length, increased plant height and improved petiole strength arising from high lignin content, thus significantly increasing leaf dry weight relative to the white light treatment. Compared with white light, the treatment with the highest blue light ratio reduced plant height and enhanced plant support through increased cellulose and hemicellulose content in the stem. Under low light intensity, 20% blue light enhanced petiole length and strength to improve photosynthate biomass; whereas 50% blue light lowered plants’ centre of gravity, preventing lodging and conserving carbohydrate allocation.

Keywords: blue light, cellulose content, far-red light, hemicellulose content, lignin metabolism, petiole, red light, soybean, stem.

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