Evaluation of Chlorophyll Content and Fluorescence Parameters as Indicators of Drought Tolerance in Barley

Drought is a major abiotic stress that severely affects food production worldwide. Agronomic and physiological traits associated with drought tolerance are suitable indicators for selection of drought tolerance genotypes to reduce the impact of water deficit on crop yield in breeding program. The objective of this study was to identify indicators related to drought tolerance through analysis of photosynthetic traits in barley （Hordeum vulgare L.）. These traits included chlorophyll content, initial fluorescence （Fo）, maximum primary yield of photochemistry of photosystem Ⅱ （Fv /Fo） and maximum quantum yield of photosystem Ⅱ （Fv/Fm）. Four genotypes （Tadmor, Arta, Morocco9-75 and WI2291） variable in drought tolerance were used to investigate the correlation between these traits and drought tolerance. The results reflected that all of these traits were affected negatively in the four genotypes at different levels of post-anthesis drought stress, but the decrease in drought tolerant genotypes was much less than that of drought sensitive genotypes. The results further revealed that the components of the photosynthetic apparatus could be damaged significantly in drought sensitive genotypes, while drought tolerant genotypes were relatively less affected. On the other hand, the values of chlorophyll content, Fo, Fv/Fo and Fv/Fm in drought tolerance genotypes were significantly higher than those in drought sensitive genotypes under drought stress. It was concluded that chlorophyll content, Fo, Fv/Fo and Fv/Fm could be considered as reliable indicators in screening barley germplasm for drought tolerance.

Molecular Characterization of Atlas 66-Derived Wheat Near-lsogenic Lines Contrasting in Aluminum(Al)Tolerance

Aluminum （Al） toxicity is the major limiting factor for wheat growth in acidic soils. Genetic improvement of Al tolerance is one of the most cost-effective solutions to improve wheat productivity. The objective of this study was to characterize near isogenic lines （NILs） contrasting in Al tolerance derived from Atlas 66 in the backgrounds of Al-sensitive cultivars Chisholm and Century using amplified fragment length polymorphism （AFLP） and simple sequence repeat （SSR）. A total of 200 AFLP and 88 SSR primer pairs were screened and 12 markers （11 AFLPs and one SSR） were associated with Al-tolerance in NILs of at least one recurrent parental background. Among them, nine were linked to A1 tolerance in the Chisholm-derived NILs, seven were associated with Al-tolerance in the Century-derived NILs, and three AFLPs derived from the primer combinations of pAG/mGCAG, pCAG/mAGC and pGTG/mGCG, and one SSR, Xwmc331 on chromosome 4D, associated with A1 tolerance in NILs of both recurrent parental backgrounds. Those common markers across two backgrounds may be the major marker loci associated with Al-tolerance in Atlas 66 and could be useful for marker-assisted breeding to improve Al tolerance in wheat. In addition, evaluation of Al tolerance among different genotypes using hematoxylin stain and relative root growth revealed that Atlas 66 was more tolerant to Al stress than the NILs, therefore suggested that the Al-tolerant NILs might not carry all Al-tolerance loci from Arias 66 and inheritance of Al tolerance in Arias 66 is more likely multigenic.