Bread Wheat With High Salinity and Sodicity Tolerance

• Published in: Frontiers in plant science 2019-10, Vol.10, p.1280-1280
• Main Authors: Genc, Yusuf, Taylor, Julian, Lyons, Graham, Li, Yongle, Cheong, Judy, Appelbee, Marie, Oldach, Klaus, Sutton, Tim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: chloride; ionic; osmotic; Plant Science; salinity; sodicity; sodium
• ISSN: 1664-462X; 1664-462X
• DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01280

Soil salinity and sodicity are major constraints to global cereal production, but breeding for tolerance has been slow. Narrow gene pools, over-emphasis on the sodium (Na + ) exclusion mechanism, little attention to osmotic stress/tissue tolerance mechanism(s) in which accumulation of inorganic ions such as Na + is implicated, and lack of a suitable screening method have impaired progress. The aims of this study were to discover novel genes for Na + accumulation using genome-wide association studies, compare growth responses to salinity and sodicity in low-Na + bread Westonia with Nax1 and Nax2 genes and high-Na + bread wheat Baart-46, and evaluate growth responses to salinity and sodicity in bread wheats with varying leaf Na + concentrations. The novel high-Na + bread wheat germplasm, MW#293, had higher grain yield under salinity and sodicity, in absolute and relative terms, than the other bread wheat entries tested. Genes associated with high Na + accumulation in bread wheat were identified, which may be involved in tissue tolerance/osmotic adjustment. As most modern bread wheats are efficient at excluding Na + , further reduction in plant Na + is unlikely to provide agronomic benefit. The salinity and sodicity tolerant germplasm MW#293 provides an opportunity for the development of future salinity/sodicity tolerant bread wheat.