The adaptive metabolomic response of pistils to heat stress applied at anthesis in durum wheat-Thinopyrum ponticum recombinant genotypes.
Author(s)
Date Issued
2025
Type
conferenceObject
Abstract
Rising global temperature challenges sustainable agricultural production, especially for strategic staple crops like durum wheat (DW) in the vulnerable Mediterranean basin. The development of heat-tolerant varieties by capturing new genetic variability for efficient stress-responsive mechanisms and enhanced reproductive potential is a key adaptive strategy. Unlike the predominantly heat-sensitive DW cultivars, wild relatives possess numerous stress-adaptive traits that can reinforce crop resilience. In this frame, three DW-Thinopyrum ponticum recombinant lines (RLs), containing different small alien segments on their 7AL arm, were subjected to transient heat stress (HS) at anthesis. Untargeted metabolomics was applied to identify differentially modulated metabolites/pathways in the pistils of stressed and control plants. Although HS at anthesis can greatly impair reproductive structure and function, little is known about molecular adaptations in female organs that directly affect grain development and yield. Distinct metabolic routes were activated in different RLs vs. controls, depending on the size of the introgressed Th. ponticum segments. These include tricarboxylic acid cycle, pentose phosphate pathway, purine, pyrimidine, ascorbate and glutathione metabolisms. Specific metabolites, such as allantoin, showed increased accumulation and may serve as selection biomarkers. Preliminary genomic data on the alien introgressions in RLs show the presence of putative Th. ponticum orthologues of genes involved in the identified metabolic pathways. The novel insights help explain the RLs’ differential spike fertility and yield stability under HS and are instrumental to breeding programs aiming to combine multiple effective metabolic strategies for improved heat resilience.
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Metabolomics_FSTP_poster_ok.pdf
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2.23 MB
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Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
7f48e3c8f874e8cdec6f0a9eaa2561e1
Conference(s)
From Seed to Pasta 5