Fig. 10From: Exogenous melatonin alleviates PEG-induced short-term water deficiency in maize by increasing hydraulic conductanceA schematic model for melatonin (MEL) alleviates PEG-induced short-term water deficiency in maize by improving the water uptake and transport. MEL may enhance the aquaporin activity by two ways: (1) up-regulating the expression of aquaporin genes and alleviating the decrease of aquaporin activity caused by H2O2; (2) potential interacting with plant hormones. The enhanced aquaporin activity resulted in increased root hydraulic conductance, which contributed to an increase in water uptake and transport, thereby maintaining the high leaf water potential, stomatal conductance, and photosynthetic rate, and enhancing the tolerance to water deficiencyBack to article page