The mechanism by which exogenous GABA induces salt tolerance in Phaseolus vulgaris was revealed through integrated physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses

The mechanism by which exogenous GABA induces salt tolerance in Phaseolus vulgaris was revealed through integrated physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The mechanism by which exogenous GABA induces salt tolerance in Phaseolus vulgaris was revealed through integrated physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses yao liu, Dajun Liu, Taifeng Zhang, Zhenxi Shi, Chang Liu, Zhishan Yan, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9350360/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 14 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Soil salinization is a critical abiotic stressor that constrains crop production. By disrupting photosynthetic structures, inducing oxidative damage, and causing ion imbalance, it severely compromises the yield and quality of common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L .). Gamma -Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a versatile non-protein amino acid, plays a pivotal role in regulating plant salt tolerance. However, whether GABA can effectively alleviate salt-induced damage in common bean, and the precise underlying regulatory mechanisms, remain to be fully elucidated. This study examines the effect of exogenous GABA on enhancing salt tolerance in common beans, laying the groundwork for breeding salt-tolerant varieties. Results Using the salt-sensitive common bean cultivar ‘Kaiman Brown’ as material, this study systematically elucidated the GABA-mediated salt tolerance regulatory network through integrated physiological-biochemical, transcriptomic, pan-targeting metabolomic, and WGCNA analyses. Results indicate that GABA significantly alleviates salt stress-induced inhibition of seedling growth by enhancing SOD, POD, and CAT activities, increasing osmotic regulator content, reducing MDA accumulation and electrolyte leakage, and improving photosynthetic systems. Additionally, GABA promotes synergistic oxygen-carboxylate metabolism via GABA shunting and 2-oxocarboxylic acid metabolism, thereby elevating citrate, aspartate, branched-chain amino acids, and proline levels. This reshapes osmotic homeostasis and carbon-nitrogen balance, laying a material foundation for subsequent stress responses. At the signal-regulation level, GABA effectively alleviates salt stress-induced inhibition of phospholipase PLIP1, thereby promoting its hydrolysis of ester bonds to generate lysophospholipids (LPL), thereby amplifying ABA signal intensity. By activating the PYR/PYL-PP2C-ABF core signaling module, it upregulates Perid genes to promote lignin synthesis, thereby fortifying cell walls and limiting Na⁺ influx. It also upregulates F3H genes to optimize flavonoid metabolism and increase rutin content, thereby enhancing the ROS scavenging capacity. Conclusion This study clarifies the physiological and molecular mechanisms by which exogenous GABA mitigates salt stress injury in commom bean, providing a theoretical basis and practical reference for the genetic omprovement and cultivation of salt-tolerant common bean varieties. Common Bean Salt stress GABA Integrated analysis of transcriptional and metabolic profiles Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementaryfiguresandtables.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 30 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 24 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 22 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 13 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 13 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 13 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 13 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9350360","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":623915557,"identity":"d6a4453d-1653-4242-ba22-c727443cc92c","order_by":0,"name":"yao liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Heilongjiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"yao","middleName":"","lastName":"liu","suffix":""},{"id":623915563,"identity":"27b9a0d1-a78d-4516-8e65-5f3f9c5c40f8","order_by":1,"name":"Dajun Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Heilongjiang 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By disrupting photosynthetic structures, inducing oxidative damage, and causing ion imbalance, it severely compromises the yield and quality of common bean (\u003cem\u003ePhaseolus vulgaris L\u003c/em\u003e.). Gamma -Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a versatile non-protein amino acid, plays a pivotal role in regulating plant salt tolerance. However, whether GABA can effectively alleviate salt-induced damage in common bean, and the precise underlying regulatory mechanisms, remain to be fully elucidated. This study examines the effect of exogenous GABA on enhancing salt tolerance in common beans, laying the groundwork for breeding salt-tolerant varieties.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsing the salt-sensitive common bean cultivar \u0026lsquo;Kaiman Brown\u0026rsquo; as material, this study systematically elucidated the GABA-mediated salt tolerance regulatory network through integrated physiological-biochemical, transcriptomic, pan-targeting metabolomic, and WGCNA analyses. Results indicate that GABA significantly alleviates salt stress-induced inhibition of seedling growth by enhancing SOD, POD, and CAT activities, increasing osmotic regulator content, reducing MDA accumulation and electrolyte leakage, and improving photosynthetic systems. Additionally, GABA promotes synergistic oxygen-carboxylate metabolism via GABA shunting and 2-oxocarboxylic acid metabolism, thereby elevating citrate, aspartate, branched-chain amino acids, and proline levels. 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