{
  "abstract": "Drought limits the growth of Paeonia ostii 'Fengdan'. While melatonin (MT) is known to enhance general drought tolerance, its association with Photosystem I-Photosystem II (PSI-PSII) photochemical coordination and secondary-metabolite accumulation in P. ostii remains unclear. We foliar-sprayed potted plants under simulated drought with 0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 μmol(MT) L⁻¹. Drought induced severe oxidative damage, impaired photosynthesis, and disrupted photochemical coordination between PSI and PSII. Among all treatments, 100 μmol(MT) L⁻¹ proved the most effective. It coincided with reduced reactive oxygen species and membrane damage, alongside increased antioxidants, osmolytes, and PSI/PSII performance. Furthermore, compared to drought alone, 100 μmol(MT) L⁻¹ treatment increased the root-bark contents of total flavonoids, total phenolics, gallic acid, catechin, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, benzoic acid, and paeonol by 48.1, 36.1, 17.7, 69.4, 69.9, 24.1, 7.7, and 22.7%, respectively. Thus, 100 μmol(MT) L⁻¹ alleviated drought-induced physiological damage and increased selected secondary-metabolite contents in P. ostii.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "College of Agriculture, Henan University of Science and Technology, 471000 Luoyang, China.",
    "These authors contributed equally to this work.",
    "College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Henan University of Science and Technology, 471000 Luoyang, China.",
    "Henan Key Laboratory of Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Eco-economic Woody Plant, 471023 Luoyang, China."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "L X Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "B Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Y M Sun"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "X L Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Z Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Q M Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "K K Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "X F Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "X G Hou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Q S Chang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3kndhsrs685fq.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.32615/ps.2026.034",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13725807",
  "id": "3kndhsrs685fq",
  "issns": [
    "0300-3604",
    "1573-9058"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42974284",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1110|Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223022077",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13725807?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13725807",
  "pmid": "42974284",
  "published": "2026-10-20",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3kndhsrs685fq.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:20:48Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42974284",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42974284"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1110|Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance",
      "subfield": "plant-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Exogenous melatonin enhances drought tolerance and secondary-metabolite accumulation in Paeonia ostii 'Fengdan' in association with improved PSI-PSII photochemical coordination.",
  "title_text": "Exogenous melatonin enhances drought tolerance and secondary-metabolite accumulation in Paeonia ostii 'Fengdan' in association with improved PSI-PSII photochemical coordination.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T15:20:48Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3kndhsrs685fq",
  "venue": "Photosynthetica",
  "versions": []
}