Being a chilling-sensitive staple crop, rice (Oryza sativa L.) is vulnerable to climate change. The competence of rice to withstand chilling stress should, therefore, be enhanced through technological tools. The present study employed chemical intervention like application of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) as nitric oxide (NO) donor and elucidated the underlying morpho-physiological and biochemical mechanisms of NO-mediated chilling tolerance in rice plants. At germination stage, germination indicators were interrupted by chilling stress (5.0 ± 1.0 °C for 8 h day-1), while pretreatment with 100 μM SNP markedly improved all the indicators. At seedling stage (14-day-old), chilling stress caused stunted growth with visible toxicity along with alteration of biochemical markers, for example, increase in oxidative stress markers (superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and malondialdehyde) and osmolytes (total soluble sugar; proline and soluble protein content, SPC), and decrease in chlorophyll (Chl), relative water content (RWC), and antioxidants. However, NO application attenuated toxicity symptoms with improving growth attributes which might be related to enhance activities of antioxidants, mineral contents, Chl, RWC and SPC. Furthermore, principal component analysis indicated that water imbalance and increased oxidative damage were the main contributors to chilling injury, whereas NO-mediated mineral homeostasis and antioxidant defense were the critical determinants for chilling tolerance in rice. Collectively, our findings revealed that NO protects against chilling stress through valorizing cellular defense mechanisms, suggesting that exogenous application of NO could be a potential tool to evolve cold tolerance as well as climate resilience in rice.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty of Agriculture Bangladesh Agricultural University Mymensingh 2202 Bangladesh

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty of Agriculture Bangladesh Agricultural University Mymensingh 2202 Bangladesh; Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science Okayama University Kita ku Okayama 700 8530 Japan

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Shahjalal University of Science and Technology Sylhet 3114 Bangladesh

Department of Botany and Plant Physiology Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Sciences 16500 Prague Czech Republic

Department of Botany and Plant Physiology Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Sciences 16500 Prague Czech Republic; Department of Plant Physiology Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources Slovak University of Agriculture 94976 Nitra Slovakia

Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science Okayama University Kita ku Okayama 700 8530 Japan

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