Potentials of synthetic hexaploid wheats to improve drought tolerance

Abstract Synthetic hexaploid wheat-derived lines (SHW-DL) offers new hope for breeders to restore genes lost during the evolutionary bottleneck. The study of adaptability, variation, and the possibility of selection in SHW-DL for drought tolerance is poorly understood in arid environments. The poten...

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Main Authors: Niloofar Mokhtari, Mohammad Mahdi Majidi, Aghafakhr Mirlohi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2022-11-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24678-5
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author Niloofar Mokhtari
Mohammad Mahdi Majidi
Aghafakhr Mirlohi
author_facet Niloofar Mokhtari
Mohammad Mahdi Majidi
Aghafakhr Mirlohi
author_sort Niloofar Mokhtari
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Synthetic hexaploid wheat-derived lines (SHW-DL) offers new hope for breeders to restore genes lost during the evolutionary bottleneck. The study of adaptability, variation, and the possibility of selection in SHW-DL for drought tolerance is poorly understood in arid environments. The potential of 184 SHW-DL and their variation for agro-morphological traits were assessed under normal and water stress conditions for 2 years. The mean values of grain yield (YLD) varied from 683.9 g/m2 (water stress) to 992.1 g/m2 (normal conditions). Grain yield decreased by 64 and 71% under water stress in the two growing seasons. High genotypic variation was found for measured traits and drought tolerance. Heritability ranged from 19 (harvest index) to 47% (spike length), whereas grain yield indicated a moderate heritability (32%). Using the assessment of the interrelationship of traits, hectoliter (a quality trait) was correlated with drought tolerance and stability indices. Therefore, it can be considered as an important trait to select drought tolerant genotypes. In the following, the priority of yield components entering the regression model was different in two moisture conditions suggesting different strategies in indirect selection programs to improve yield. Spike m−2 and grain spike−1 indirectly and negatively affected yield through thousand-grain weight (TGW) under normal and water stress conditions, respectively. Furthermore, SHW-DL compared to ordinary wheat were significantly superior in terms of early maturity, dwarfing, yield, TGW, stem diameter, and harvest index. Overall, our findings suggest that SHW-DL are a valuable source for improving wheat yield and drought tolerance, and indirect selection might be possible to improve these complex traits.
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spelling doaj.art-574ce2adb55941a2af2e3de5803e070a2022-12-22T04:17:33ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-11-0112111110.1038/s41598-022-24678-5Potentials of synthetic hexaploid wheats to improve drought toleranceNiloofar Mokhtari0Mohammad Mahdi Majidi1Aghafakhr Mirlohi2Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of TechnologyDepartment of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of TechnologyDepartment of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of TechnologyAbstract Synthetic hexaploid wheat-derived lines (SHW-DL) offers new hope for breeders to restore genes lost during the evolutionary bottleneck. The study of adaptability, variation, and the possibility of selection in SHW-DL for drought tolerance is poorly understood in arid environments. The potential of 184 SHW-DL and their variation for agro-morphological traits were assessed under normal and water stress conditions for 2 years. The mean values of grain yield (YLD) varied from 683.9 g/m2 (water stress) to 992.1 g/m2 (normal conditions). Grain yield decreased by 64 and 71% under water stress in the two growing seasons. High genotypic variation was found for measured traits and drought tolerance. Heritability ranged from 19 (harvest index) to 47% (spike length), whereas grain yield indicated a moderate heritability (32%). Using the assessment of the interrelationship of traits, hectoliter (a quality trait) was correlated with drought tolerance and stability indices. Therefore, it can be considered as an important trait to select drought tolerant genotypes. In the following, the priority of yield components entering the regression model was different in two moisture conditions suggesting different strategies in indirect selection programs to improve yield. Spike m−2 and grain spike−1 indirectly and negatively affected yield through thousand-grain weight (TGW) under normal and water stress conditions, respectively. Furthermore, SHW-DL compared to ordinary wheat were significantly superior in terms of early maturity, dwarfing, yield, TGW, stem diameter, and harvest index. Overall, our findings suggest that SHW-DL are a valuable source for improving wheat yield and drought tolerance, and indirect selection might be possible to improve these complex traits.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24678-5
spellingShingle Niloofar Mokhtari
Mohammad Mahdi Majidi
Aghafakhr Mirlohi
Potentials of synthetic hexaploid wheats to improve drought tolerance
Scientific Reports
title Potentials of synthetic hexaploid wheats to improve drought tolerance
title_full Potentials of synthetic hexaploid wheats to improve drought tolerance
title_fullStr Potentials of synthetic hexaploid wheats to improve drought tolerance
title_full_unstemmed Potentials of synthetic hexaploid wheats to improve drought tolerance
title_short Potentials of synthetic hexaploid wheats to improve drought tolerance
title_sort potentials of synthetic hexaploid wheats to improve drought tolerance
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24678-5
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