Brassinosteroids increase electron transport and photosynthesis in soybean plants under water deficit

Drought frequently results in significant losses in agricultural systems, including the soybean yield. Brassinosteroids exhibit multiple actions on essential processes, including chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange. Considering that the electron transport rate (ETR) into photosystems can exercise interference on net photosynthetic rate (PN), this research aims to determine whether 24-epibrassinolide (EBR) affects electron transport and find out if there is any repercussion on photosynthesis in soybean plants affected by the water deficit. The experiment was performed using a randomized factorial design, with two water conditions (control and water deficit) and three EBR concentrations (0, 50, and 100 nM EBR). The water deficit reduced effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry, ETR, PN, and water-use efficiency. However, the exogenous application of 100 nM EBR mitigated these negative effects, increasing these variables. EBR reduced the oxidant compounds (superoxide and hydrogen peroxide) and membrane damages (malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage) in stressed plants. Our study proved that EBR increased ETR and PN in control and stressed plants, revealing that ETR had a strong relationship with PN. These results suggest that soybean plants with higher values of ETR are more efficient in relation to PN.