Inabenfide-Induced Alleviation of Salt Stress in Rice as Linked to Changes in Salicylic Acid Content and Catalase Activity

The effect of inabenfide was investigated in rice seedlings subjected to salt stress in relation to changes in chlorophyll fluorescence(${\Delta}F/Fm'$), lipid peroxidation, salicylic acid(SA) content, and catalase(CAT) activity. A reduction in shoot growth of rice seedlings by 120 mM NaCl treatment was significantly alleviated by pretreatment with 30 ${\mu}M$ inabenfide. Sodium ion content was not affected by pretreatment with inabenfide, suggesting that alleviation was not due to a reduction in sodium ion uptake by the rice seedlings. At three days after NaCl treatment, the rice seedlings pretreated with inabenfide showed a higher ${\Delta}F/Fm'$(30%) and lower lipid peroxidation(28%) compared with the rice seedlings treated with NaCl alone. After NaCl treatment, CAT activity in the third leaf of rice seedlings decreased significantly but alleviated by pretreatment with inabenfide. Furthermore, pretreatment with inabenfide also reduced the level of SA which accumulated drastically in the third leaf of rice seedlings within a day after exposure to salt stress. These results suggest that inabenfide prevents SA accumulation in rice seedlings under salt stress which eventually induces the alleviation of salt stress damage.