| Silicon is of great significance to the growth and drought tolerance of plants. Drought stress causes
water loss of plant and even inhibits plant photosynthesis and the normal growth and development of plants, which leads
to the reduction of crop yield and poses serious threats to food safety. Although the silicon has long been considered as
an unnecessary element for plants, many studies showed that plants can relieve many kinds of adversity stresses after
absorbing silicon. This paper systematically concluded the research status at home and abroad on the role of silicon in
plant growth, photosynthesis, osmotic regulation and antioxidant regulation under drought stress. The result showed that
the exogenous silicon could effectively improve the synthesis of organic osmotic regulatory substances, alleviate osmotic
stress under drought stress, improve the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the content of antioxidant substances to resist
oxidative stress so that the drought tolerance of plants could be enhanced. However, current researches on the regulation
of plant drought resistance by silicon are mostly on the physiological level. Many molecular mechanisms, such as how
silicon regulates the synthesis of plant osmotic substances under drought stress and the activity of various antioxidant
enzymes, are still unclear, which are the focus of future studies. |
