Cloning of four DREB genes from Tibetan Sophora moorcroftiana and analysis of their expression during abiotic stress

Sophora moorcroftiana is an endemic, droughtresistant shrub that grows in Tibet and has some degree of resistance to salt, cold, heat, and drought. In the present study, four dehydration responsive element-binding（DREB） genes（Sm DREB1, Sm DREB2, Sm DREB and Sm DREB1） were isolated from S. moorcroftiana for the first time and their expression and proline content under abiotic stress were analyzed. Proline accumulated in seedlings under drought, salt, cold, and heat stress treatments. The four genes were variously expressed in response to the four abiotic stresses. Sm DREB1 was induced by drought, cold, and heat stresses; Sm DREB2 and Sm DREB4 were both induced by salt, cold, and heat stresses, whereas Sm DREB3 was induced by drought and heat stresses. Thus, these four genes may participate in conferring tolerance to these four abiotic stresses and are candidate genes for genetic engineering in the future.

Hypoxia tolerance studies for yield,fiber and physiological traits in cotton(Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Background： Hypoxia tolerance studies in cotton are very rare in Pakistan. Unpredicted and excessive rainfalls result in severe losses to cotton crop in many regions of the country due to lack of hypoxia tolerance in current cotton varieties. The genotypes that can tolerate flooding are not reported earlier. The studies were conducted to explore hypoxia tolerance in local germplasm which will help to develop hypoxia tolerant cotton varieties. Method： An experiment with randomized complete different cotton varieties. The genotypes were given conditions. blocks was designed to study the hypoxia tolerance in two treatments i.e., water logged and non-water logged Results： The genotypes showed significant variability for yield, fiber and physiological traits. The hypoxia studies revealed that there is significant reduction for plant height in water sensitive genotype LRA-5166. The genotype MNH-786 showed better yield and MNH-556 showed superior ginning outturn percentage under water logged conditions. Staple length, strength and micronaire values also decreased under hypoxia. Similar pattern of negative effects were observed for Chlorophyll a, b contents and chl a/b ratio. Two hypoxia tolerant cultivars CIM-573 and MNH-564 had significantly higher chlorophyll a （1.664, 1.551） than other cultivars under both normal and waterlogged conditions. There was a significant decrease in total free amino acids in all genotypes/cultivars due to waterlogging. Free amino acid contents were significantly higher in two waterlogging sensitive cultivars, CEDIX and N-KRISHMA, than other cultivars under both non-waterlogged and waterlogged conditions. Waterlogging caused a significant reduction in shoot soluble proteins and increase in shoot proline. The genotype LRA-5166 was the highest in shoot soluble proteins content and showed significant decrease in shoot proline. Conclusions： With respect to yield MNH-786 showed better results and regarding ginning outturn percentage MNH-556 exhibited superior performance. The genotypes CIM-573 and MNH-564 showed higher chlorophyll a values. The above said genotypes may be exploited for further studies related to hypoxia tolerance.

Interactive Effects of Silicon and Potassium Nitrate in Improving Salt Tolerance of Wheat

Adequate regulation of mineral nutrients might be effective to ameliorate the deleterious effects of salts and help to sustain crop productivity, particularly in glycophytes, under salt stress. In this study, laboratory and greenhouse experiments were carried out at Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Centre in East Azerbaijan, Iran, to investigate the interactive effects of silicon and potassium nitrate in alleviating NaCl induced injuries in wheat（Triticum aestivum L.）. In the laboratory experiment, three winter wheat cultivars Pishgam, Afagh and Alvand were grown on sterile filter paper moistened with 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 mmol L-1 NaCl solution. Results revealed that wheat cultivars were significantly different in their growth response to different concentrations of NaCl and Pishgam was found to be the most tolerant to NaCl stress, and used in the second part of study. In the greenhouse experiment, Pishgam was grown in a hydroponic system subjected to different NaCl levels（20, 60 and 100 mmol L-1） and treated by silicon（0, 2 and 4 mmol L-1, final concentration in nutrient solution using K2SiO3） and potassium nitrate（0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mmol L-1, foliar application）. The experimental design was factorial based on a completely randomized design with three replications. It was found that NaCl stress significantly increased proline accumulation and sodium content in the plant tissues while decreased potassium uptake and accumulation by plants. Moreover, plant weight, 100-seed weight, relative water content, chlorophyll content, and photosynthesis were also significantly affected by varying levels of NaCl. However, exogenous application of silicon and potassium nitrate reduced sodium uptake, increased potassium and consequently improved plant weight, 100-seed weight, seed yield, ear length, and photosynthesis rate. This study suggested that utilization of the salt-tolerant cultivar（Pishgam） combined with proper foliar application of potassium nitrate（2 mmol L-1） and silicon（4 mmol L-1） at the wheat booting stage might be a promising approach to obtain higher grain yield on saline lands.