Physiological and antioxidant responses of synthetic hexaploid wheat germplasm under drought

• Published in: BMC plant biology Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 747 - 12
• Main Authors: Mokhtari, Niloofar, Majidi, Mohammad Mahdi, Mirlohi, Aghafakhr
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 05.08.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Aegilops - genetics; Aegilops - metabolism; Antioxidant system; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - metabolism; Aquatic resources; Arid environments; Ascorbic acid; Catalase; Chlorophyll; Climate change; Climatic changes; Crop yield; Crop yields; Cultivars; Diseases and pests; Drought; Drought resistance; Droughts; Environmental aspects; Environmental impact; Enzymatic activity; Enzymes; Forecasts and trends; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetic diversity; Genetic variation; Genomes; Genotype & phenotype; Genotypes; Germplasm; Grain; Growth; Hardiness; Heritability; Hydrogen peroxide; Iran; L-Ascorbate peroxidase; Leaf area; Leaf area index; Moisture content; Oxidative stress; Peroxidase; Photosynthesis; Photosynthetic pigments; Physiology; Pigments; Plant Breeding; Plants; Polyploidy; Productivity; Proline; Proteins; Synthetic wheat; Triticum - genetics; Triticum - metabolism; Triticum - physiology; Triticum aestivum; Water; Water content; Water stress; Wheat; World population; Iran; Antioxidant system; Synthetic wheat; Physiology; Drought; Genetic variation
• ISSN: 1471-2229; 1471-2229
• DOI: 10.1186/s12870-024-05445-2

As a result of the world population and climate change impact increases (especially in arid environments), there is a critical need for high-yield, drought-tolerant wheat. Synthetic hexaploid wheat derived lines (SHW-DL), were created artificially by crossing different durum wheat cultivars (AABB) with accessions of Aegilops tauschii (DD), a beneficial source of new genes for common bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L). Here, we studied the response of a panel of 91 SHW-DL for drought tolerance based on physiological, antioxidant enzyme activities, and drought tolerance indices. A wide range of variation and high values of heritability observed for grain yield, physiological and antioxidant traits indicating that the SHW-DL panel constitutes a valuable gene source for drought tolerance improvement of wheat. Despite decreases in grain yield (YLD), leaf area index (LAI), and relative water content (RWC) an increase in the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was observed. Moreover, drought streass increased the antioxidant enzyme activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD), and also photosynthetic pigments, proline (Pro), and MDA content. With higher values of grain yield, physiological and biochemical traits such as photosynthetic pigments, and RWC, and lower content of MDA, and peroxidase (H O ) activity, SHW-DL performed better compared to common wheat lines under water stress conditions. Different responses to water stress within the germplasm and between synthetic and common wheat suggest that selection for adaptive and suitable genotypes is possible for drought tolerance in synthetic wheat germplasm. Genotypes 54, 98, 102, 105, 122, 124, 143, 159, 196, and 198 were identified to be directly used in breeding programs or indirectly by crossing them with other wheat germplasm collections.