Exogenous Quercetin Enhances Soybean Salt Tolerance via Multimodal Mechanisms

ABSTRACT Increasing soil salinization poses a severe threat to global agricultural production. Quercetin, a natural compound known to effectively alleviate abiotic stress, has an unclear molecular regulatory mechanism in enhancing soybean salt tolerance. To investigate its mechanism of action, this study established control, quercetin treatment, salt stress, and quercetin plus salt stress groups. By integrating physiological indices with transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses, we systematically elucidated the molecular mechanisms by which exogenous quercetin enhances salt tolerance in soybeans. The results demonstrated that quercetin treatment not only significantly improved root growth and ionic homeostasis (increased K + /Na + ratio) under salt stress but also enhanced energy supply by reinforcing sucrose metabolism and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Furthermore, it coordinately regulated key genes in the abscisic acid and jasmonic acid signaling pathways to bolster stress responses, while simultaneously promoting proline accumulation and reprogramming the flavonoid metabolic pathway. Thereby, a multifaceted regulatory network for salt tolerance was constructed. This study provides new insights into the role of quercetin in plant stress resistance and offers a theoretical basis for crop breeding for improved stress tolerance.