1 research outputs found
Variable Levels of Tolerance to water Stress (Drought) and Associated Biochemical Markers in Tunisian Barley Landraces
[EN] Due to its high tolerance to abiotic stress, barley (Hordeum vulgare) is cultivated in many
arid areas of the world. In the present study, we evaluate the tolerance to water stress (drought)
in nine accessions of ¿Ardhaoui¿ barley landraces from different regions of Tunisia. The genetic
diversity of the accessions is evaluated with six SSR markers. Seedlings from the nine accessions are
subjected to water stress by completely stopping irrigation for three weeks. A high genetic diversity is
detected among the nine accessions, with no relationships between genetic distance and geographical
or ecogeographical zone. The analysis of growth parameters and biochemical markers in the water
stress-treated plants in comparison to their respective controls indicated great variability among the
studied accessions. Accession 2, from El May Island, displayed high tolerance to drought. Increased
amounts of proline in water-stressed plants could not be correlated with a better response to drought,
as the most tolerant accessions contained lower levels of this osmolyte. A good correlation was
established between the reduction of growth and degradation of chlorophylls and increased levels
of malondialdehyde and total phenolics. These biochemical markers may be useful for identifying
drought tolerant materials in barleyPietro Gramazio is grateful to Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for a pre-doctoral (Programa FPI de la UPV-Subprograma 1/2013 call) contract.Dbira, S.; Al Hassan, M.; Gramazio, P.; Ferchichi, A.; Vicente, O.; Prohens, J.; Boscaiu, M. (2018). Variable Levels of Tolerance to water Stress (Drought) and Associated Biochemical Markers in Tunisian Barley Landraces. Molecules. 23(3). doi:10.3390/molecules23030613S23