Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals molecular regulation of salt tolerance in two contrasting chickpea genotypes

Salinity is a major abiotic stress that causes substantial agricultural losses worldwide. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important legume crop but is salt-sensitive. Previous physiological and genetic studies revealed the contrasting response of two desi chickpea varieties, salt-sensitive Rupali and salt-tolerant Genesis836, to salt stress. To understand the complex molecular regulation of salt tolerance mechanisms in these two chickpea genotypes, we examined the leaf transcriptome repertoire of Rupali and Genesis836 in control and salt-stressed conditions. Using linear models, we identified categories of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) describing the genotypic differences: salt-responsive DEGs in Rupali (1,604) and Genesis836 (1,751) with 907 and 1,054 DEGs unique to Rupali and Genesis836, respectively, salt responsive DEGs (3,376), genotype-dependent DEGs (4,170), and genotype-dependent salt-responsive DEGs (122). Functional DEG annotation revealed that the salt treatment affected genes involved in ion transport, osmotic adjustment, photosynthesis, energy generation, stress and hormone signalling, and regulatory pathways. Our results showed that while Genesis836 and Rupali have similar primary salt response mechanisms (common salt-responsive DEGs), their contrasting salt response is attributed to the differential expression of genes primarily involved in ion transport and photosynthesis. Interestingly, variant calling between the two genotypes identified SNPs/InDels in 768 Genesis836 and 701 Rupali salt-responsive DEGs with 1,741 variants identified in Genesis836 and 1,449 variants identified in Rupali. In addition, the presence of premature stop codons was detected in 35 genes in Rupali. This study provides valuable insights into the molecular regulation underpinning the physiological basis of salt tolerance in two chickpea genotypes and offers potential candidate genes for the improvement of salt tolerance in chickpeas

Waterlogging of Winter Crops at Early and Late Stages: Impacts on Leaf Physiology, Growth and Yield

Waterlogging is expected to increase as a consequence of global climate change, constraining crop production in various parts of the world. This study assessed tolerance to 14-days of early- or late-stage waterlogging of the major winter crops wheat, barley, rapeseed and field pea. Aerenchyma formation in adventitious roots, leaf physiological parameters (net photosynthesis, stomatal and mesophyll conductances, chlorophyll fluorescence), shoot and root growth during and after waterlogging, and seed production were evaluated. Wheat produced adventitious roots with 20–22% of aerenchyma, photosynthesis was maintained during waterlogging, and seed production was 86 and 71% of controls for early- and late-waterlogging events. In barley and rapeseed, plants were less affected by early- than by late-waterlogging. Barley adventitious roots contained 19% aerenchyma, whereas rapeseed did not form aerenchyma. In barley, photosynthesis was reduced during early-waterlogging mainly by stomatal limitations, and by non-stomatal constraints (lower mesophyll conductance and damage to photosynthetic apparatus as revealed by chlorophyll fluorescence) during late-waterlogging. In rapeseed, photosynthesis was mostly reduced by non-stomatal limitations during early- and late-waterlogging, which also impacted shoot and root growth. Early-waterlogged plants of both barley and rapeseed were able to recover in growth upon drainage, and seed production reached ca. 79–85% of the controls, while late-waterlogged plants only attained 26–32% in seed production. Field pea showed no ability to develop root aerenchyma when waterlogged, and its photosynthesis (and stomatal and mesophyll conductances) was rapidly decreased by the stress. Consequently, waterlogging drastically reduced field pea seed production to 6% of controls both at early- and late-stages with plants being unable to resume growth upon drainage. In conclusion, wheat generates a set of adaptive responses to withstand 14 days of waterlogging, barley and rapeseed can still produce significant yield if transiently waterlogged during early plant stages but are more adversely impacted at the late stage, and field pea is not suitable for areas prone to waterlogging events of 14 days at either growth stage

In situ O2 dynamics in submerged Isoetes australis: varied leaf gas permeability influences underwater photosynthesis and internal O2

A unique type of vernal pool are those formed on granite outcrops, as the substrate prevents percolation so that water accumulates in depressions when precipitation exceeds evaporation. The O2 dynamics of small, shallow vernal pools with dense populations of Isoetes australis were studied in situ, and the potential importance of the achlorophyllous leaf bases to underwater net photosynthesis (PN) and radial O2 loss to sediments is highlighted. O2 microelectrodes were used in situ to monitor pO2 in leaves, shallow sediments, and water in four vernal pools. The role of the achlorophyllous leaf bases in gas exchange was evaluated in laboratory studies of underwater PN, loss of tissue water, radial O2 loss, and light microscopy. Tissue and sediment pO2 showed large diurnal amplitudes and internal O2 was more similar to sediment pO2 than water pO2. In early afternoon, sediment pO2 was often higher than tissue pO2 and although sediment O2 declined substantially during the night, it did not become anoxic. The achlorophyllous leaf bases were 34% of the surface area of the shoots, and enhanced by 2.5-fold rates of underwater PN by the green portions, presumably by increasing the surface area for CO2 entry. In addition, these leaf bases would contribute to loss of O2 to the surrounding sediments. Numerous species of isoetids, seagrasses, and rosette-forming wetland plants have a large proportion of the leaf buried in sediments and this study indicates that the white achlorophyllous leaf bases may act as an important area of entry for CO2, or exit for O2, with the surrounding sediment

Surviving floods: leaf gas films improve O₂ and CO₂ exchange, root aeration, and growth of completely submerged rice

When completely submerged, the leaves of some species retain a surface gas film. Leaf gas films on submerged plants have recently been termed ‘plant plastrons’, analogous with the plastrons of aquatic insects. In aquatic insects, surface gas layers (i.e. plastrons) enlarge the gas–water interface to promote O2 uptake when under water; however, the function of leaf gas films has rarely been considered. The present study demonstrates that gas films on leaves of completely submerged rice facilitate entry of O2 from floodwaters when in darkness and CO2 entry when in light. O2 microprofiles showed that the improved gas exchange was not caused by differences in diffusive boundary layers adjacent to submerged leaves with or without gas films; instead, reduced resistance to gas exchange was probably due to the enlarged water–gas interface (cf. aquatic insects). When gas filmswere removed artificially, underwater net photosynthesis declined to only 20 % of the rate with gas films present, such that, after 7 days of complete submergence, tissue sugar levels declined, and both shoot and root growthwere reduced. Internal aeration of roots in anoxicmedium,when shootswere in aerobic floodwater in darkness or when in light, was improved considerably when leaf gas films were present. Thus, leaf gas films contribute to the submergence tolerance of rice, in addition to those traits already recognized, such as the shoot-elongation response, aerenchyma andmetabolic adjustments to O2 deficiency and oxidative stress