Abstract
Aegilops spp. is the closest genus to wheat (Triticum spp.), which makes Aegilops great candidates to exhibit precursors of wheat features. Aegilops cylindrica Host displays excellent salt tolerance. In the current study, biochemical and phytochemical compounds in the leaves of two wheat cultivars, one hyper-salt tolerant Ae. cylindrica genotype and their amphidiploids (derived from “Chinese Spring” × Ae. cilindrica and “Roshan” × Ae. cylindrica), grown under control and saline field conditions, were assessed. These compounds included total protein content, proline content, electrolyte leakage, total flavonoid content, total phenolic content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, and reducing power. In addition, phenolic components were also identified using HPLC analysis. Chlorogenic acid, ellagic acid, ferulic acid, syringic acid, vanillic acid, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, and gallic acid were the most abundant phenolic acids. Luteolin, apigenin, and rutin were the most abundant flavonoids in the leaves. Salt stress significantly increased all biochemical variables, with the exceptions of reducing power and p-coumaric acid. Interestingly, amphidiploid genotypes exhibited intermediate levels of most of the detected phenolic compounds between the two parental species. As demonstrated by bivariate correlations luteolin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and apigenin could predict inhibition percentage by DPPH assay, suggesting a possible role in the cellular defense against oxidative stress in wheat. The amphidiploids and their wild parent performed significantly better than wheat cultivars on phenolic constituents, flavonoids, and maintaining redox homeostasis under salt stress conditions.
Highlights
Wild relatives of wheat are extremely valuable genetic resources for the continued improvement of bread wheat, the most important and widely grown cereal that, as a staple food, contributes significantly to the diet of the world population (Arzani and Ashraf, 2017)
Significant genotype × salt stress interaction was found for all biochemical traits except for total protein content (Table 1)
Significant increase in the total protein content in the leaves of plants was found in salt stress conditions compared with control one (Table 2)
Summary
Wild relatives of wheat are extremely valuable genetic resources for the continued improvement of bread wheat, the most important and widely grown cereal that, as a staple food, contributes significantly to the diet of the world population (Arzani and Ashraf, 2017). Ion toxicity, nutritional disorders, and oxidative stress (Munns and Tester, 2008; Arzani and Ashraf, 2016). These factors can cause physiological and biochemical defects in plant tissues. Phenolic compounds have shown to be effective to protect biological systems against various oxidative stresses, playing crucial role in maintaining redox-homeostasis, and offering a potential targets for improving stress tolerance in plants (Trchounian et al, 2016). Plant adaptation to salt stress is one of the possibility affected by the homeostasis between ROS and phytochemicals such as polyphenols and flavonoids
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