Effects of Grafting on Genomic Stability in Salinity Stress Conditions in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Abstract

Cucumber is an important type of vegetable that is grown in high quantities. Abiotic stress factors can cause significant morphological, physiological and molecular changes in cucumber. Grafting on strong rootstocks can reduce this negative effect. This study was carried out to evaluate the genotoxic potential of salinity stress in cucumber and to determine the effect of grafting on genotoxicity. Non-grafted and grafted plants were treated with 100 mM NaCl and the ISSR profiles were compared after 15 days. Using 14 ISSR primers, 51.9% polymorphism was detected between all groups. While salinity stress decreased the GTS rate to 47.2%, it was determined that this rate could be increased (%72.4-79.5) with grafting. GTS and similarity indices gave similar results and it was concluded that the ISSR technique could be effective in determining genotoxicity. There were also differences in measurements between rootstocks. With this study, it was concluded that salinity stress may cause genomic template stability changes in cucumber, this parameter can be protected by grafting depending on the rootstock variety used, and the ISSR technique can be used to determine genotoxicity. This study provides a basis for investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying grafting in the cucumber response to salinity stress.