Improved Salinity Tolerance-Associated Variables Observed in EMS Mutagenized Wheat Lines.

Salinity tolerance-associated phenotypes of 35 EMS mutagenized wheat lines originating from BARI Gom-25 were compared. Vegetative growth was measured using non-destructive image-based phenotyping. Five different NaCl concentrations (0 to 160 mM) were applied to plants 19 days after planting (DAP 19), and plants were imaged daily until DAP 38. Plant growth, water use, leaf Na+, K+ and Cl- content, and thousand kernel weight (TKW) were measured, and six lines were selected for further analysis. In saline conditions, leaf Na+, K+, and Cl- content variation on a dry weight basis within these six lines were ~9.3, 1.4, and 2.4-fold, respectively. Relative to BARI Gom-25, two (OA6, OA62) lines had greater K+ accumulation, three (OA6, OA10, OA62) had 50-75% lower Na+:K+ ratios, and OA62 had ~30% greater water-use index (WUI). OA23 had ~2.2-fold greater leaf Na+ and maintained TKW relative to BARI Gom-25. Two lines (OA25, OA52) had greater TKW than BARI Gom-25 when grown in 120 mM NaCl but similar Na+:K+, WUI, and biomass accumulation. OA6 had relatively high TKW, high leaf K+, and WUI, and low leaf Na+ and Cl-. Phenotypic variation revealed differing associations between the parameters measured in the lines. Future identification of the genetic basis of these differences, and crossing of lines with phenotypes of interest, is expected to enable the assessment of which combinations of parameters deliver the greatest improvement in salinity tolerance.

In silico based screening of WRKY genes for identifying functional genes regulated by WRKY under salt stress.

Soil salinization is an increasing global threat to economically important agricultural crops such as bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). A main regulator of plants' responses to salt stress is WRKY transcription factors, a protein family that binds to DNA and alters the rate of transcription for specific genes. In this study, we identified 297 WRKY genes in the Chinese Spring wheat genome (Ensembl Plants International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC)), of which 126 were identified as putative. We classified 297 WRKY genes into three Groups: I, II (a-e) and III based on phylogenetic analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) of WRKY proteins using physicochemical properties resulted in a very similar clustering as that observed through phylogenetic analysis. The 5` upstream regions (-2 000 bp) of 107 891 sequences from the wheat genome were used to predict WRKY transcription factor binding sites, and from this we identified 31 296 genes with putative WRKY binding motifs using the Find Individual Motif Occurrences (FIMO) tool. Among these predicted genes, 47 genes were expressed during salt stress according to a literature survey. Thus, we provide insight into the structure and diversity of WRKY domains in wheat and a foundation for future studies of DNA-binding specificity and for analysis of the transcriptional regulation of plants' response to different stressors, such as salt stress, as addressed in this study.