Evaluation of Multiple Salinity Tolerance Indices for Screening and Comparative Biochemical and Molecular Analysis of Pearl Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] Genotypes
2022
Jha, Shweta | Singh, Jawahar | Chouhan, Chaya | Singh, Omvir | Srivastava, Rakesh K.
Salinity is a major constraint for plant growth, development and yield worldwide. Evaluation of a large number of germplasms in salt-stressed environments may help identify superior salt-tolerant genotypes. The present study dissects the genetic diversity of 33 pearl millet genotypes (landraces and inbred lines) for salinity tolerance through in vitro screening at the seedling stage. Our results revealed a significant reduction in total biomass and shoot growth of the salt-sensitive genotypes upon exposure to 150 mM NaCl, in contrast to the tolerant genotypes showing better growth characteristics. A significant differential effect of salt treatment on morphological traits was observed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), confirming substantial genetic diversity among all genotypes for salt tolerance. The genotypes were clustered into three groups based on multiple stress indices. The genotypes were also evaluated using principal component analysis (PCA) to identify the key contributing traits for stress tolerance. Based on these results, a total of four contrasting genotypes were selected for further biochemical and molecular analysis. Physiological studies confirmed that salt tolerance might be due to the higher content of osmolytes and the activity of antioxidant enzymes. Similarly, gene expression profiling of catalase (CAT), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), glutathione reductase (GR), and nitrate reductase (NR) revealed a profound increase in NR and GDH transcript levels in the tolerant genotypes, suggesting their major role as reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers under salinity. The overall findings of this study could be utilized further for candidate gene mining through “omics” approaches, aiming toward development of salinity resilient crop plants.
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