Vigna vexillata (zombi pea) is an underutilized legume crop considered to be a potential gene source in breeding for abiotic stress tolerance. This study focuses on the molecular characterization of mechanisms controlling waterlogging tolerance using two zombi pea varieties with contrasting waterlogging tolerance. Morphological examination revealed that in contrast to the sensitive variety, the tolerant variety was able to grow, maintain chlorophyll, form lateral roots, and develop aerenchyma in hypocotyl and taproots under waterlogging. To find the mechanism controlling waterlogging tolerance in zombi pea, comparative transcriptome analysis was performed using roots subjected to short-term waterlogging. Functional analysis indicated that glycolysis and fermentative genes were strongly upregulated in the sensitive variety, but not in the tolerant one. In contrast, the genes involved in auxin-regulated lateral root initiation and formation were expressed only in the tolerant variety. In addition, cell wall modification, aquaporin, and peroxidase genes were highly induced in the tolerant variety under waterlogging. Our findings suggest that energy management and root plasticity play important roles in mitigating the impact of waterlogging in zombi pea. The basic knowledge obtained from this study can be used in the molecular breeding of waterlogging-tolerant legume crops in the future.

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Gamma radiation has been widely applied in agriculture for crop improvement; however, it can induce oxidative stress in plant cell. This research aims to study effects of acute and chronic gamma irradiation on lipid peroxidation, plantlets survival and growth rate in M1V1 generation of turmeric. Plantlets cultured on MS medium were exposed to acute gamma radiation from Cs-137 (dose rate 3.7 Gy/min) at 0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 Gy. For chronic irradiation with a Co-60 source (dose rate 0.0057 Gy/min), turmeric were exposed to gamma radiation at 0, 21, 41, 62 and 82 Gy. Results showed that the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was gradually increased with radiation doses after chronic irradiation, whereas after acute irradiation, it significantly increased at the dose of 40 Gy compared to non-irradiated plantlets. Differences between acute and chronical exposure to gamma irradiation were observed for MDA at the highest dose. Chronic irradiation at 21, 41 and 62 Gy also influenced plant development, mainly due to the stimulation of seedling survival and growth, while 20 Gy acutely gamma irradiation maximally promoted and decreased afterward. The median lethal dose (LD50) and 50% growth reduction dose (GR50) after acutely irradiated were reported to 74 and 66 Gy, respectively.

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