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Genotype-specific patterns of physiological and antioxidative responses in barley under salinity stress

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Abstract

Using reliable salt tolerance markers is a key component in barley breeding programs. In this study, physiological and antioxidative markers of two Tunisian barley salinity tolerance contrasting genotypes Boulifa (B) and Manzel Habib (MH) were assessed at 0, 3, 6 and 9 days of 200 mM salt treatment. Salinity caused decrease in growth, degraded photosynthetic activity and reduced water-holding capacity in both genotypes with more pronounced negative effects in the salt-sensitive (MH) compared to the salt-tolerant (B) genotype. On the other hand, the lower oxidative damage in B compared to MH under salt stress could be explained by higher activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione reductase (GR). Additionally, a genotype-specific pattern of enzyme activity and corresponding gene expression was revealed in the two barleys under salt stress. In this context, a positive correlation was noted for the SOD. On the other hand, multivariate analysis marked SOD and APX as the most discriminating factors between both stressed genotypes. Our findings could be considered for selection in breeding programs for salt stress tolerance in barley.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Aida Bouajila and Dr. Badra Bouamama for prospecting barley accessions.

Funding

This work was supported in part by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the International Foundation for Science (IFS) under the Grant No. C/5603-1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Center of Biotechnology of Borj Cedria, BP 901, 2050, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia

    Rim Nefissi Ouertani, Rahma Jardak, Mariem Ben Chikha, Wiem Ben Yaala, Zohra Hamdi, Samiha Mejri & Abdelwahed Ghorbel

  2. Laboratory of Legumes and Sustainable Agrosystems, Center of Biotechnology of Borj Cedria, BP 901, 2050, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia

    Ghassen Abid

  3. Laboratory of Genetics and Cereal Breeding, National Institute of Agronomy of Tunisia, Carthage University, LR14 AGR01, 1082, Tunis, Tunisia

    Chahine Karmous

  4. Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Robert K. Jansen

  5. Centre of Excellence in Bionanoscience Research, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Robert K. Jansen

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  1. Rim Nefissi Ouertani
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  2. Rahma Jardak
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  3. Mariem Ben Chikha
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  9. Robert K. Jansen
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  10. Abdelwahed Ghorbel
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Correspondence to Rim Nefissi Ouertani.

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Communicated by A. Börner.

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Ouertani, R.N., Jardak, R., Ben Chikha, M. et al. Genotype-specific patterns of physiological and antioxidative responses in barley under salinity stress. CEREAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 50, 851–863 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42976-021-00232-3

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