Isgandarova, T.; Rustamova, S.; Aliyeva, D.; Rzayev, F.; Gasimov, E.; Huseynova, I. Antioxidant and Ultrastructural Alterations in Wheat During Drought-Induced Leaf Senescence. Preprints2024, 2024100728. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.0728.v1
APA Style
Isgandarova, T., Rustamova, S., Aliyeva, D., Rzayev, F., Gasimov, E., & Huseynova, I. (2024). Antioxidant and Ultrastructural Alterations in Wheat During Drought-Induced Leaf Senescence. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.0728.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Isgandarova, T., Eldar Gasimov and Irada Huseynova. 2024 "Antioxidant and Ultrastructural Alterations in Wheat During Drought-Induced Leaf Senescence" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.0728.v1
Abstract
Wheat is one of the most important crops to ensure food production globally. Understanding the mechanism of leaf senescence in wheat plays a crucial role in improving its productivity and resilience under varying stress scenario. In this study, we investigated biochemical, functional, and ultrastructural changes during leaf senescence in wheat genotypes with contrasting drought tolerance. For this, key parameters such as chlorophyll and total protein content, membrane stability, malondialdehyde level, and the activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, guaiacol peroxidase, benzidine peroxidase, catalase) were comparatively analyzed during both natural and drought-induced senescence. Additionally, the expression of superoxide dismutase isoform genes functioning in different cellular compartments was studied, alongside ultrastructural changes in flag leaves. The experiments involved genotypes of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and durum (Triticum durum Desf.) wheat. After the booting stage, irrigation was discontinued for drought-treated plants. Flag leaves were sampled at 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 days after anthesis. The drought-tolerant genotypes exhibited slower chlorophyll degradation, lower lipid peroxidation levels, higher membrane stability, and more robust antioxidant responses, maintaining cellular function longer than the sensitive genotypes, which showed accelerated leaf senescence. Transcript levels of FeSOD increased significantly post-flowering but declined as senescence progressed, while MnSOD expression rose towards the end of ontogenesis. Ultrastructural analysis revealed progressive damage to chloroplast membranes, thylakoid structures, and mesophyll cell walls under stress conditions. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the physiological and molecular responses of wheat to drought stress, offering potential targets for improving crop performance in water-limited environments.
Keywords
Wheat; flag leaf senescence; drought; antioxidant enzymes; expression of SOD genes; ultrastructural changes
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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