Accumulation of resveratrol, ferulic acid and iron in seeds confer iron deficiency chlorosis tolerance to a novel genetic stock of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) grown in calcareous soils.

Peanut is mostly grown in calcareous soils with high pH which are deficient in available iron (Fe2+) for plant uptake causing iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC). The most pertinent solution is to identify efficient genotypes showing tolerance to limited Fe availability in the soil. A field screening of 40 advanced breeding lines of peanut using NRCG 7472 and ICGV 86031 as IDC susceptible and tolerant checks, respectively, was envisaged for four years. PBS 22040 and 29,192 exhibited maximum tolerance while PBS 12215 and 12,185 were most susceptible. PBS 22040 accumulated maximum seed resveratrol (5.8 ± 0.08 ppm), ferulic acid (378.6 ± 0.31 ppm) and Fe (45.59 ± 0.41 ppm) content. Enhanced chlorophyll retention (8.72-9.50 µg ml-1), carotenoid accumulation (1.96-2.08 µg ml-1), and antioxidant enzyme activity (APX: 35.9-103.9%; POX: 51- 145%) reduced the MDA accumulation (5.61-9.11 µM cm-1) in tolerant lines. The overexpression of Fe transporters IRT1, ZIP5, YSL3 was recorded to the tune of 2.3-9.54; 1.45-3.7; 2.20-2.32- folds respectively in PBS 22040 and 29,192, over NRCG 7472. PBS 22040 recorded the maximum pod yield (282 ± 4.6 g/row), hundred kernel weight (55 ± 0.7 g) and number of pods per three plants (54 ± 1.7). The study thus reports new insights into the roles of resveratrol, ferulic acid and differential antioxidant enzyme activities in imparting IDC tolerance. PBS 22040, being the best performing line, can be the potent source of IDC tolerance for introgression in high yielding but susceptible genotypes under similar edaphic conditions. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-023-01321-9.

Nutritional composition and antioxidant activity of Spanish and Virginia groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea L.): a comparative study.

Kernels of sixty groundnut genotypes comprising thirty each of Spanish and Virginia groups were characterized and compared for the content of oil, protein, phenols and antioxidant activity along with their fatty acid and sugars profiles. The antioxidant activity for Virginia genotypes was ranged from 12.5 to 16.5 µM Trolox equivalent activity for Spanish genotypes ranged from 6.8-15.2 µM. Amongst Virginia types, the highest oleic acid/linoleic acid (O/L) ratio of 2.38 was observed for NRCG 12312 while from Spanish group the highest O/L ratio of 1.24 was observed for NRCG 12731. The sucrose content for Virginia genotypes ranged from 38.5 to 69.0 mg/g while it was 27.9 to 53.3 mg/g for Spanish genotypes. Average myo-inositol content was higher for Spanish genotypes (0.8-2.1 mg/g) compared to Virginia (0.4-1.8 mg/g) while the reverse was true for stachayose content (Spanish: 3.5-7.9 mg/g; Virginia: 4.6-10.3 mg/g). Thus, Virginia genotypes could be preferred to Spanish genotypes for better oil stability and antioxidant activity.