Genetic control of tolerance to drought stress in soybean

Abstract

Background Drought stress limits the production of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], which is the most grown high-value legume crop worldwide. Breeding for drought tolerance is a difficult endeavor and understanding the genetic basis of drought tolerance in soybean is therefore crucial for harnessing the genomic regions involved in the tolerance mechanisms. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis was applied in a soybean germplasm collection (the EUCLEG collection) of 359 accessions relevant for breeding in Europe, to identify genomic regions and candidate genes involved in the response to short duration and long duration drought stress (SDS and LDS respectively) in soybean. Results The phenotypic response to drought was stronger in the long duration drought (LDS) than in the short duration drought (SDS) experiment. Over the four traits considered (canopy wilting, leaf senescence, maximum absolute growth rate and maximum plant height) the variation was in the range of 8.4−25.2% in the SDS, and 14.7−29.7% in the LDS experiments. The GWAS analysis identified a total of 17 and 22 significant marker-trait associations for four traits in the SDS and LDS experiments, respectively. In the genomic regions delimited by these markers we identified a total of 12 and 16 genes with putative functions that are of particular relevance for drought stress responses including stomatal movement, root formation, photosynthesis, ABA signaling, cellular protection and cellular repair mechanisms. Some of these genomic regions co-localized with previously known QTLs for drought tolerance traits including water use efficiency, chlorophyll content and photosynthesis. Conclusion Our results indicate that the mechanism of slow wilting in the SDS might be associated with the characteristics of the root system, whereas in the LDS, slow wilting could be due to low stomatal conductance and transpiration rates enabling a high WUE. Drought-induced leaf senescence was found to be associated to ABA and ROS responses. The QTLs related to WUE contributed to growth rate and canopy height maintenance under drought stress. Co-localization of several previously known QTLs for multiple agronomic traits with the SNPs identified in this study, highlights the importance of the identified genomic regions for the improvement of agronomic performance in addition to drought tolerance in the EUCLEG collection.

Advanced Biotechnological Interventions in Mitigating Drought Stress in Plants

“…Genetic control of drought tolerance in soybeans has been identified, emphasizing the importance of QTLs and specific genes associated with drought stress responses [ 144 ]. Genomic variation in Brachypodium reflected as distinctive metabolomes indicates the potential mediation of drought tolerance through metabolomic variations [ 145 ].…”

Single nuclei multiomics reveals the drought-driven gene regulatory atlas in Arabidopsis

“…For plants, the detrimental impacts of drought include impaired growth, delayed development, reduced reproduction, and heightened susceptibility to diseases, leading to lower yields and heightened mortality (3)(4)(5). Previous studies on elucidating plant-drought interactions have revealed multilayered responses, encompassing genomics (6)(7)(8)(9), epigenomics (10)(11)(12), transcriptomic (10,13,14), and proteomics (15)(16)(17). Omics-wide profiling has advanced our understanding of the complex and integrative regulation involving various biological molecules in plant responses to drought (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17).…”

“…Previous studies on elucidating plant-drought interactions have revealed multilayered responses, encompassing genomics (6)(7)(8)(9), epigenomics (10)(11)(12), transcriptomic (10,13,14), and proteomics (15)(16)(17). Omics-wide profiling has advanced our understanding of the complex and integrative regulation involving various biological molecules in plant responses to drought (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17). Mounting evidence highlights the varied drought response exhibited by distinct plant cell types.…”

Development of KASP markers assisted with soybean drought tolerance in the germination stage based on GWAS

“…Saleem et al. conducted short- and long- duration drought experiments on a 359 soybean accessions at the seedling stage, and identifying 17 and 22 significant SNPs, respectively ( Saleem et al., 2022 ). However, previous investigations into soybean drought tolerance primarily concentrated on seedling or mature stages, leaving uncertainty about whether the identified QTLs and SNPs exhibit similar adaptations during the germination stage.…”