Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Aug 24;15(9):1119.
doi: 10.3390/genes15091119.

Screening Wheat Genotypes for Specific Genes Linked to Drought Tolerance

Ahmed Sallam  1   2 , Mohamed M H El-Defrawy  2 , Mona F A Dawood  3 , Mostafa Hashem  2
Affiliations

Screening Wheat Genotypes for Specific Genes Linked to Drought Tolerance

Ahmed Sallam et al. Genes (Basel). .

Abstract

Drought stress, which significantly affects growth and reduces grain yield, is one of the main problems for wheat crops. Producing promising drought-tolerant wheat cultivars with high yields is one of the main targets for wheat breeders. In this study, a total of seven drought-tolerant wheat genotypes were screened for the presence of 19 specific drought tolerance genes. The genotypes were tested under normal and drought conditions for two growing seasons. Four spike traits, namely, spike length (SPL), grain number per spike (GNPS), number of spikelets per spike (NSPS), and grain yield per spike (GYPS), were scored. The results revealed that drought stress decreased the SPL, GNPS, NSPS, and GYPS, with ranges ranging from 2.14 (NSPS) to 13.92% (GNPS) and from 2.40 (NSPS) to 11.09% (GYPS) in the first and second seasons, respectively. ANOVA revealed high genetic variation among the genotypes for each trait under each treatment. According to the drought tolerance indices, Omara 007 presented the highest level of drought tolerance (average of sum ranks = 3), whereas both Giza-36 genotypes presented the lowest level of drought tolerance (average of sum ranks = 4.8) among the genotypes tested. Among the 19 genes tested, 11 were polymorphic among the selected genotypes. Omara 007 and Omara 002 presented the greatest number of specific drought tolerance genes (nine) tested in this study, whereas Sohag-5, Giza-36, and PI469072 presented the lowest number of drought tolerance genes (four). The number of different genes between each pair of genotypes was calculated. Seven different genes were found between Omara 007 and Giza-36, Omara 007 and Sohag-5, and Omara 002 and PI469072. The results of this study may help to identify the best genotypes for crossing candidate genotypes, and not merely to genetically improve drought tolerance in wheat.

Keywords: Triticum aestivum L.; breeding; specific genes; water deficit.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The reduction due to drought of studied traits in both seasons (a), and average of sum ranks (ASR) of all stress indices for each genotype in two seasons (b). SPL: spike length, NSPS: number of spikes per spike, GNPS: grain number per spike, GYPS: grain yield per spike.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Agarose gel electrophoresis of DREB genes used in this study. Names of genotypes are supplied in Supplementary Table S1.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Agarose gel electrophoresis of DREB genes used in this study. Names of genotypes are supplied in Supplementary Table S1.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The position of the detected genes among the seven genotypes by PCR on wheat chromosomes.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Number of genes and the average of ASR (two growing seasons) for each genotype (a) and the numbers of different genes found between genotypes (b).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Medhat A., Al-Naggar M., Abd M., Abd El-Shafi E.-M., Helmy El-Shal M., Anany A.H. Evaluation of Egyptian Wheat Landraces (Triticum aestivum L.) For Drought Tolerance, Agronomic, Grain Yield and Quality Traits. Plant Arch. 2020;20:3487–3504.
    1. Challinor A.J., Watson J., Lobell D.B., Howden S.M., Smith D.R., Chhetri N. A Meta-Analysis of Crop Yield under Climate Change and Adaptation. Nat. Clim. Change. 2014;4:287–291. doi: 10.1038/nclimate2153. - DOI
    1. World Food and Agriculture—Statistical Yearbook 2022. FAO; Rome, Italy: 2022.
    1. Kulkarni M., Soolanayakanahally R., Ogawa S., Uga Y., Selvaraj M.G., Kagale S. Drought Response in Wheat: Key Genes and Regulatory Mechanisms Controlling Root System Architecture and Transpiration Efficiency. Front. Chem. 2017;5:106. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2017.00106. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eltaher S., Sallam A., Emara H.A., Nower A.A., Salem K.F.M., Börner A., Baenziger P.S., Mourad A.M.I. Genome-Wide Association Mapping Revealed SNP Alleles Associated with Spike Traits in Wheat. Agronomy. 2022;12:1469. doi: 10.3390/agronomy12061469. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources