Genetic analysis of salinity tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

Understanding the genetics of salt tolerance is of utmost need to combat the rising prevalence of soil salinity through employing tolerant cultivars. The current study was carried out to investigate the quantitative genetic basis of agronomical and physiological-related traits of salinity-stressed plants using seven generations (parental cultivars, F1, F2, F3, BC1, and BC2) of wheat grown in the field under normal and saline conditions. The combined analysis of variance showed highly significant effects of salinity and genotypes (generations) on all the traits. The scaling tests did not support the three-parameter model (additive-dominance model); hence, the six-parameter model was used to assess the genetic effects governing the traits in this study. The epistatic gene effects were crucial, as were additive and dominance gene effects for plant height, K/Na, and yield in salinity stress conditions. The highest heritability was observed for total chlorophyll, carotenoid, SPAD chlorophyll, and K/Na ratio in saline conditions. The additive genetic variance was more important than the dominance variance for grain weight, K, K/Na in salinity conditions. The findings of the current study may have important implications in the quantitative genetics of salinity tolerance and the development of cultivars tolerant to salinity in wheat.

Assessment of the salt tolerance of diverse bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes during the early growth stage under hydroponic culture conditions

“…To generate salinity-tolerant wheat genotypes, a selection procedure and genotypic variation are required [ 31 , 32 ]. However, the genetic basis of salt tolerance in wheat breeding is limited [ 22 , 33 , 34 ]. The shortage of genetic diversity restricts progress in improving wheat salt tolerance [ 35 ].…”

Identification and transcriptomic profiling of salinity stress response genes in colored wheat mutant

“…Salinity stress disrupts plant growth by increasing Na + ion assimilation and reducing the Na + /K + ratio, leading to osmotic stress and ion toxicity, consequently affecting normal plant development ( EL Sabagh et al., 2021 ). Additionally, under salinity stress, oxidative stress can impair plant growth through reduced photosynthetic capacity, oxidative damage caused by an imbalance in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and decreased antioxidant activity, ultimately leading to reduced crop yield ( Hasanuzzaman et al, 2014 ; Sadak, 2019 ; Omrani et al, 2022 ).…”

Integrating Agro-Morpho-Physiological Traits and SSR Markers for Detecting the Salt Tolerance of Advanced Spring Wheat Lines under Field Conditions

“…Similarly, Radi et al [17] and Uzair et al [18] showed that salt stress caused a significant reduction in wheat PDW, with a more pronounced effect on salt-sensitive genotypes compared to salt-tolerant ones. Importantly, PDW and LA exhibit high heritability coupled with a high expected genetic gain from selection and are strongly associations with GY under salinity conditions [15,19,20]. Therefore, PDW and LA traits can serve as effective screening criteria for distinguishing salt-tolerant genotypes from salt-sensitive ones in real field conditions.…”

“…Furthermore, Munns et al [3] found that the wheat lines with high levels of Na + lose chlorophyll at a faster rate compared to those with low Na + levels. In addition, Omrani et al [20] conducted a study using seven generations of wheat grown under normal and saline conditions in the field, and they reported a high broad-sense heritability for Chlt and SPAD values in saline conditions. Moreover, a strong positive correlation between Chlt and overall plant salinity tolerance was found in several field crops, including wheat, barley, rapeseed, and chickpea [22,23].…”