Pinpointing genomic loci for drought-induced proline and hydrogen peroxide accumulation in bread wheat under field conditions

Mohammad Kamruzzaman; Mekides Abebe Beyene; Md Nurealam Siddiqui; Agim Ballvora; Jens Léon; Ali Ahmad Naz

doi:10.1186/s12870-022-03943-9

Pinpointing genomic loci for drought-induced proline and hydrogen peroxide accumulation in bread wheat under field conditions

BMC Plant Biol. 2022 Dec 13;22(1):584. doi: 10.1186/s12870-022-03943-9.

Authors

Mohammad Kamruzzaman^{1

2}, Mekides Abebe Beyene¹, Md Nurealam Siddiqui^{1

3}, Agim Ballvora¹, Jens Léon^{1

4}, Ali Ahmad Naz^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES)-Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
² Plant Breeding Division, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh.
³ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur 1706, Bangladesh.
⁴ Field Lab Campus Klein-Altendorf, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
⁵ Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES)-Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. a.naz@hs-osnabrueck.de.
⁶ Department of Plant Breeding, University of Applied Sciences, Osnabrueck, Osnabrueck, Germany. a.naz@hs-osnabrueck.de.

Abstract

Background: Proline (Pro) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) play a critical role in plants during drought adaptation. Genetic mapping for drought-induced Pro and H₂O₂ production under field conditions is very limited in crop plants since their phenotyping with large populations is labor-intensive. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of a diversity panel comprised of 184 bread wheat cultivars grown in natural field (control) and rain-out shelter (drought) environments was performed to identify candidate loci and genes regulating Pro and H₂O₂ accumulation induced by drought.

Results: The GWAS identified top significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) on 1A and 2A chromosomes, respectively for Pro and H₂O₂ in response to drought. Similarly, MTAs for stress tolerance index (STI) of Pro and H₂O₂ were identified on 5B and 1B chromosomes, respectively. Total 143 significant MTAs were identified including 36 and 71 were linked to drought and 2 and 34 were linked to STI for Pro and H₂O_2, respectively. Next, linkage disequilibrium analysis revealed minor alleles of significant single-markers and haplotypes were associated with higher Pro and H₂O₂ accumulation under drought. Several putative candidate genes for Pro and H₂O₂ content encode proteins with kinase, transporter or protein-binding activities.

Conclusions: The identified genetic factors associated with Pro and H₂O₂ biosynthesis underlying drought adaptation lay a fundamental basis for functional studies and future marker-assisted breeding programs.

Keywords: Drought; GWAS; Hydrogen peroxide; Proline; Wheat diversity.

MeSH terms

Bread
Droughts*
Genome-Wide Association Study
Genomics
Hydrogen Peroxide
Phenotype
Plant Breeding
Proline
Triticum* / genetics

Substances

Hydrogen Peroxide
Proline