Plant Soil Environ., X:X | DOI: 10.17221/274/2026-PSE

Photosynthetic and related traits in variety-specific drought acclimation of soybeanOriginal Paper

Jiří Krucký ORCID...1, Václav Hejnák ORCID...1, Marek Popov ORCID...1, Jan Kubeš ORCID...1, Jana Česká ORCID...1, Ľubomír Harenčár ORCID...2, Milan Skalický ORCID...1, Pavla Vachová ORCID...1, František Hnilička ORCID...1
1 Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
2 Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Nitra, Slovak Republic

This study evaluated the acclimation of eight soybean varieties to water deficit through changes in photosynthetic performance and physiological, biochemical, and epigenetic traits. Plants were grown under controlled conditions in two treatments: control (80% water-holding capacity; WHC) and drought (40% WHC). Water status was assessed using relative water content and osmotic potential, while photosynthetic performance was evaluated using gas exchange, water use efficiency, maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II, chlorophylls, and carotenoids. Total flavonoid content, reducing power, proline accumulation, and 5-methylcytosine content were determined. Water deficit induced marked variety-specific changes across traits. The varieties Hana and Atacama maintained higher relative water content (RWC), less negative leaf osmotic potential (Ψs), and more favourable photosynthetic performance under drought, while the variety Atlas showed a favourable profile in several other traits. In contrast, the varieties Dornburg, York, and Impala showed a less favourable response, whereas the varieties Labrador and Zaria occupied intermediate positions depending on the trait evaluated. Multivariate and correlation analyses showed that photosynthetic performance was closely associated with plant water status, while stronger biochemical and epigenetic responses were more evident in less favourable or intermediate profiles. These results indicate that soybean acclimation to water deficit is coordinated and variety-specific and cannot be assessed using a single parameter.

Keywords: water relations; chlorophyll fluorescence; phenotypic plasticity; water stress; Glycine max L.

Received: June 8, 2026; Revised: July 8, 2026; Accepted: July 13, 2026; Prepublished online: August 3, 2026 

Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Abdullah M.M., Waraich E.A., Ahmad M., Hussain S., Asghar H.N., Haider A., Zulfiqar U., Ahmad Z., Soufan W., Prasad P.V.V., Djalovic I. (2025): Improving soybean drought tolerance via silicon-induced changes in growth, physiological, biochemical, and root characteristics. Plant Signalling and Behaviour, 20: 2465232. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    2. Ahmad W., Waraich E.A., Haider A., Mahmood N., Ramzan T., Alamri S., Siddiqui M.H., Akhtar M.S. (2024): Silicon-mediated improvement in drought and salinity stress tolerance of black gram (Vigna mungo L.) by modulating growth, physiological, biochemical, and root attributes. ACS Omega, 9: 37231-37242. Go to original source...
    3. Alghabari F.M. (2026): Integrated physiological, biochemical, and molecular analysis of drought tolerance in soybean cultivars. Frontiers in Plant Science, 17: 1730570. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    4. Alseekh S., Klemmer A., Yan J., Guo T., Fernie A.R. (2025): Embracing plant plasticity or robustness as a means of ensuring food security. Nature Communications, 16: 461. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    5. Alzahrani Y. (2024): Evaluation of drought and salinity tolerance potentials of different soybean genotypes based upon physiological, biochemical, and genetic indicators. Frontiers in Plant Science, 15: 1466363. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    6. Aphalo P.J., Sadras V.O. (2022): Explaining pre-emptive acclimation by linking information to plant phenotype. Journal of Experimental Botany, 73: 5213-5234. Go to original source...
    7. Basal O., Zargar T.B., Veres S. (2024): Elevated tolerance of both short-term and continuous drought stress during reproductive stages by exogenous application of hydrogen peroxide on soybean. Scientific Reports, 14: 2200. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    8. Bates L.S., Waldren R.P., Teare I.D. (1973): Rapid determination of free proline for water-stress studies. Plant and Soil, 39: 205-207. Go to original source...
    9. Buezo J., Sanz-Saez Á., Moran J.F., Soba D., Aranjuelo I., Esteban R. (2019): Drought tolerance response of high-yielding soybean varieties to mild drought: physiological and photochemical adjustments. Physiologia Plantarum, 166: 88-104. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    10. Desoky E.-S.M., Mansour E., El-Sobky E.-S.E.A., Abdul-Hamid M.I., Taha T.F., Elakkad H.A., Arnaout S.M.A.I., Eid R.S.M., El-Tarabily K.A., Yasin M.A.T. (2021): Physio-biochemical and agronomic responses of faba beans to exogenously applied nano-silicon under drought stress conditions. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12: 637783. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    11. Guzzo M.C., Costamagna C., Salloum M.S., Rotundo J.L., Monteoliva M.I., Luna C.M. (2021): Morpho-physiological traits associated with drought responses in soybean. Crop Science, 61: 672-688. Go to original source...
    12. Hossain M.S., Khan M.A.R., Mahmud A., Ghosh U.K., Anik T.R., Mayer D., Das A.K., Mostofa M.G. (2024a): Differential drought responses of soybean genotypes in relation to photosynthesis and growth-yield attributes. Plants, 13: 2765. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    13. Hossain M.S., Li J., Wang C., Monshi F.I., Tabassum R., Islam M.A., Faruquee M., Muktadir M.A., Mia M.S., Islam A.K.M.M., Hasan A.K., Sikdar A., Feng B. (2024b): Enhanced antioxidant activity and secondary metabolite production in tartary buckwheat under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced drought stress during germination. Agronomy, 14: 619. Go to original source...
    14. Hussain S., Hussain S., Qadir T., Khaliq A., Ashraf U., Parveen A., Saqib M., Rafiq M. (2019): Drought stress in plants: an overview on implications, tolerance mechanisms and agronomic mitigation strategies. Plant Science Today, 6: 389-402. Go to original source...
    15. Jiang Z., Zanten V.M., Sasidharan R. (2025): Mechanisms of plant acclimation to multiple abiotic stresses. Communications Biology, 8: 655. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    16. Junker A., Muraya M.M., Weigelt-Fischer K., Arana-Ceballos F., Klukas C., Melchinger A.E., Meyer R.C., Riewe D., Altmann T. (2015): Optimizing experimental procedures for quantitative evaluation of crop plant performance in high throughput phenotyping systems. Frontiers in Plant Science, 5: 770. Go to original source...
    17. Krucky J., Hejnak V., Vachova P., Gupta A., Kubes J., Popov M., Skalicky M. (2025): Silicon application enhances drought resilience in buckwheat: a comparative study of three varieties. Frontiers in Plant Science, 16: 1635709. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    18. Lin S., Zhang W., Wang G., Hu Y., Zhong X., Tang G. (2024): Physiological regulation of photosynthetic-related indices, antioxidant defense, and proline anabolism on drought tolerance of wild soybean (Glycine soja L.). Plants, 13: 880. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    19. Lodhi N., Srivastava R. (2025): Dynamics and malleability of plant DNA methylation during abiotic stresses. Epigenomes, 9: 31. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    20. Oyaizu M. (1986): Studies on products of browning reaction antioxidative activities of products of browning reaction prepared from glucosamine. The Japanese Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics, 44: 307-315. Go to original source...
    21. Parasuraman B., Rajamanickam V., Rathinavelu S., Geethanjali S., Alagarswamy S. (2024): Interactive effect of drought and high temperature on physiological traits of soybean (Glycine max). Plant Physiology Reports, 29: 116-124. Go to original source...
    22. Peiretti P.G., Karamać M., Janiak M., Longato E., Meineri G., Amarowicz R., Gai F. (2019): Phenolic composition and antioxidant activities of soy-bean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) plant during growth cycle. Agronomy, 9: 153. Go to original source...
    23. Porra R.J., Thompson W.A., Kriedemann P.E. (1989): Determination of accurate extinction coefficients and simultaneous equations for assaying chlorophylls a and b extracted with four different solvents: verification of the concentration of chlorophyll standards by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Bioenergetics, 975: 384-394. Go to original source...
    24. Rao X., Yang S., Lu S., Yang P. (2024): DNA methylation dynamics in response to drought stress in crops. Plants, 13: 1977. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    25. Rasheed A., Mahmood A., Maqbool R., Albaqami M., Sher A., Sattar A., Khosa G.B., Nawaz M., Hassan M.U., Al-Yahyai R., Aamer M., Li H., Wu Z. (2022): Key insights to develop drought-resilient soybean: a review. Journal of King Saud University - Science, 34: 102089. Go to original source...
    26. Rodrigues J.M., Ávila A.Z., de Souza Gouveia A., de Paula Alves Pinto I., da Silva Bonjour M., Meira R.M.S.A., Fontes E.P.B., de Freitas L.G., de Almeida Oliveira M.G., de Oliveira Ramos H.J. (2024): The nematophagous root endophyte Pochonia chlamydosporia enhances tolerance to drought in soybean. Theoretical and Experimental Plant Physiology, 36: 727-746. Go to original source...
    27. Tsanova-Savova S., Ribarova F., Petkov V. (2018): Quercetin content and ratios to total flavonols and total flavonoids in Bulgarian fruits and vegetables. Bulgarian Chemical Communications, 50: 69-73.
    28. Wellburn A.R. (1994): The spectral determination of chlorophylls a and b, as well as total carotenoids, using various solvents with spectrophotome-ters of different resolution. Journal of Plant Physiology, 144: 307-313. Go to original source...
    29. Zi N., Ren W., Guo H., Yuan F., Liu Y., Fry E. (2024): DNA methylation participates in drought stress memory and response to drought in Medicago ruthenica. Genes, 15: 1286. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return