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International Conference on

Recent Trends in Environmental Sustainability

ESCON22/SAgri/20
Evaluation of phosphorus and salt stress effects in wheat crop: genes and osmolytes

1

Basit Ali, Rafiq Ahmad, Muhammad Shahzad , Amjad Hassan, Sameera Safdar, Muhammad
2
Ishaq , Sabaz Ali Khan *
1Department of Biotechnology, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus,
University Road, 22060, Abbottabad
2 Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad
Campus, University Road, 22060, Abbottabad
3 Barani Agricultural Research Station, Jarma-Kohat Agriculture Research System, Govt of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan
Correspondence: sabaz@cuiatd.edu.pk

Abstract
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the gift of nature for humans having great nutritional and
medicinal value. Sufficient amount of phosphorous is essential for reproductive and
developmental activities like flowering and seed formation, as well as for producing healthier
straw. Salt stress affects physiological and biochemical makeup of wheat seeds by delaying
seed germination and preventing seedling growth. To cope with phosphorous and salt stress
wheat adopts different strategies that include osmolytes accumulation, transport and uptake of
ions and expression of specific genes. This study focused on finding the impacts of
phosphorous and salt stress on four most cultivated wheat varieties namely Khaista-17,
Paseena-17, Abaseen-2021 and Zarghan-2021. Seedlings were exposed to phosphorous
deficiency and salt stress under hydroponic conditions and data were recoded for phenotypic
traits like root length, shoot length, leaf color and biochemical content such as proline,
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chlorophyll, and Na , K , Zn +2 and P concentration. Expression pattern of WESR1,
TRIae;Pht1;10, and TRIae;Pht1;11 genes corresponding to phosphorus deficiency and salt
stress was evaluated by molecular analysis. The expression of the selected genes was studied
using semi quantitative PCR using Actin as a reference gene. An overall, root, shoot length,
moisture and dry content was negatively affected by individual phosphorus and salt stress. The
concentration of proline showed that combined phosphorus and salt stress in plants
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accumulated more proline compared to individual phosphorous and salt stress. Na
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+2
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concentration was increased whereas K , Zn and P concentration significantly decreased
under salt-stressed plants. This study concluded that there were clear effects of phosphorous
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and salt stress on the morphological parameters and Na , K , Zn , proline content and on the
expression of the selected genes in the wheat varieties. Future strategies need to be devised to
avoid losses due to salt and phosphorus stresses.
Keywords: Gene expression; osmolytes; phosphorus stress; salt stress; wheat

Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus

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