Evaluating of Salt Stress Tolerance in Selected Wheat Mutant Progenies with Contributing Expression Analysis of TaWRKY Genes and Antioxidant Defence Parameters

Abstract

In current work, the seeds from two candidate fifth-generation moderately salt tolerant wheat mutant progenies (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Adana 99) developed with using sodium azide (as a mutagenic agent) and from their parent (commercial cultivar) were sown in the growth chamber to evaluate their performance under control and 150 mM NaCl treatment conditions. Compared with commercial cultivar, mutants demonstrated much higher activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and guaiacol peroxidase, and chlorophyll contents, and much lower contents of lipid peroxidation and values of electrolyte leakage under control condition. On the other hand, contents of lipid peroxidation and value of electrolyte leakage increased, but chlorophyll content decreased more severely in commercial cultivar than mutants under salt stress condition. In addition to increasing in expression levels of TaWRKY5, TaWRKY10 and TaWRKY44 genes in mutants positively regulated in salt stress responses by either direct or indirect activation of the cellular antioxidant enzyme responses or activation of stress-related gene expression. These candidate salt tolerant wheat mutant progenies will be used to increase the salt tolerance in the wheat-breeding programmers.