Response of a boron-tolerant Triticum dicoccum genotype under high boron concentrations

Approximately 10000 years ago, wild emmer wheat was domesticated to develop cultivated emmer wheat, Triticum dicoccum, with the AB genome. It is considered as a potential candidate for durum wheat breeding programs due to its compatibility with modern tetraploid wheat. Along with a high protein content and productive tillers, it has also been reported to be a crucial source of different stresses such as yellow rust, common bunt and drought stress. However, the information about its boron toxicity tolerance is limited. Here, we discuss different responses of a boron-tolerant T. dicoccum genotype towards boron toxic growth conditions. The genotype was hydroponically grown under three different boron treatments, Control, 1 mM and 10 mM, in triplicate. The differential expression of several genes under stress conditions was found to be associated with the physiological and biochemical responses of plants. Several transporters including transmembrane proteins, aquaporins and ABC transporters have been determined as potential candidate genes for developing B toxicity tolerance. Not only were caffeine metabolism and photosynthesis–antenna protein pathways highly enriched under high boron, but also oxidative phosphorylation, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and metabolic pathways showed the maximum number of DEGs. The studied boron-tolerant genotype and the identified significant DEGs can be further used by researchers to introduce B toxicity tolerance in modern wheat accessions.

Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the TUBITAK 1001 (No. 119O455) project for the funding provided to conduct this research work.