Varying responses of field pennycress seedlings under waterlogging

Abstract

Field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) is an emerging intermediate oilseed crop with significant potential for integration into existing crop rotations during the offseason, offering both economic and environmental benefits. However, fall waterlogging stress poses a potential challenge to successful pennycress establishment during the seedling stage. This study evaluated the waterlogging tolerance of 22 genetically diverse pennycress natural accessions by measuring mortality rates, plant height, and width under control and waterlogging conditions. Seedlings were grown under standard conditions for 7 days before being subjected to either waterlogging treatments or control conditions for two weeks. Measurements were taken on Day 0, Day 7, and Day 14 to track growth and mortality outcomes. Statistical analyses, including ANOVA, unpooled t-tests, and Wilcoxon tests, were conducted to identify significant differences between treatment and control groups. This study found that there is a clear distinction between the most tolerant and most susceptible accessions. 13/22 accessions displayed significantly higher survival in control conditions while 4/22 showed significantly higher survival in waterlogged conditions. The accessions that had high survival in waterlogging showed extremely limited growth, suggesting an energy trade-off between plant growth and plant survival. These accessions also grew very little in control conditions, pointing to a genetic mechanism for survival that includes slow growth regardless of conditions. The findings provide valuable insights into the variability of waterlogging tolerance in pennycress, identifying promising candidates for breeding programs aimed at improving resilience to environmental stress. By identifying tolerant accessions, this research contributes to advancing pennycress as a viable winter annual cash crop capable of thriving in unpredictable climate conditions.U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Genomic Science Program grant no. DE-SC0021286OSU CFAES Undergraduate Honors Program Scholarships & Small Grants Will C. Hauk Endowment fundNo embargoAcademic Major: Sustainable Plant System