Wheat grain yield on saline soils is improved by an ancestral Na+ transporter gene
2012
Munns, R. | James, R. | Xu, B. | Athman, A. | Conn, S. | Jordans, C. | Byrt, C. | Hare, R. | Tyerman, S. | Tester, M. | Plett, D. | Gilliham, M.
The ability of wheat to maintain a low sodium concentration ([Na+]) in leaves correlates with improved growth under saline conditions1,2. This trait, termed Na+ exclusion, contributes to the greater salt tolerance of bread wheat relative to durum wheat3,4. To improve the salt tolerance of durum wheat, we explored natural diversity in shoot Na+ exclusion within ancestral wheat germplasm. Previously, we showed that crossing of Nax2, a gene locus in the wheat relative Triticum monococcum into a commercial durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum var. Tamaroi) reduced its leaf [Na+] (ref. 5). Here we show that a gene in the Nax2 locus, TmHKT1;5-A, encodes a Na+-selective transporter located on the plasma membrane of root cells surrounding xylem vessels, which is therefore ideally localized to withdraw Na+ from the xylem and reduce transport of Na+ to leaves. Field trials on saline soils demonstrate that the presence of TmHKT1;5-A significantly reduces leaf [Na+] and increases durum wheat grain yield by 25% compared to near-isogenic lines without the Nax2 locus.
Show more [+] Less [-]Rana Munns, Richard A. James, Bo Xu, Asmini Athman, Simon J. Conn, Charlotte Jordans, Caitlin S. Byrt, Ray A. Hare, Stephen D. Tyerman, Mark Tester, Darren Plett and Matthew Gilliham
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