Allelic variation of TaWD40-4B.1 contributes to drought tolerance by modulating catalase activity in wheat

Abstract

Drought drastically restricts wheat production, so to dissect allelic variations of drought tolerant genes without imposing trade-offs between tolerance and yield is essential to cope with the circumstance. Here, we identify a drought tolerant WD40 protein encoding gene TaWD40-4B.1 of wheat via the genome-wide association study. The full-length allele TaWD40-4B.1C but not the truncated allele TaWD40-4B.1T possessing a nonsense nucleotide variation enhances drought tolerance and grain yield of wheat under drought. TaWD40-4B.1C interacts with canonical catalases, promotes their oligomerization and activities, and reduces H2O2 levels under drought. The knock-down of catalase genes erases the role of TaWD40-4B.1C in drought tolerance. TaWD40-4B.1C proportion in wheat accessions is negatively correlative with the annual rainfall, suggesting this allele may be selected during wheat breeding. The introgression of TaWD40-4B.1C enhances drought tolerance of the cultivar harboring TaWD40-4B.1T. Therefore, TaWD40-4B.1C could be useful for molecular breeding of drought tolerant wheat.

Deciphering the genetic landscape of seedling drought stress tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) through genome-wide association studies

“…High-confidence MTAs identified through GWAS serve as potential targets for extracting CGs associated with the trait of interest. Several studies utilized GWAS-identified MTAs to extract the potential CGs associated with: (i) agronomic traits including days to anthesis, days to maturity, tiller number, spike length, spikelet number, grain number per spike, grain weight, and grain yield ( Gill et al., 2022 ; Gudi et al., 2024 ); (ii) physiological traits such as chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll content, vegetation index, gas exchange, and stomatal conductance ( Hamdani et al., 2019 ; Gudi et al., 2023 ); (iii) stress tolerance such as drought, heat, salinity, etc ( Tanin et al., 2022 , Tanin et al., 2023 ; Tian et al., 2023 ); (iv) biochemical compounds such as proline, abscisic acid, and hydrogen peroxides (H 2 O 2 ) ( Verslues et al., 2014 ; Kamruzzaman et al., 2022 ); and (v) quality traits including grain protein content, sedimentation volume, kernel hardiness, solvent retention capacity, Fe content, and Zn content ( Gudi et al., 2022b ; Halladakeri et al., 2023 ). Similarly, in the present study we used 13 high-confidence MTAs explaining >10% phenotypic variance and having the LOD scores >5 to extract 216 CGs models.…”

“…WD40 genes have been extensively studied for their regulatory role in a wide range of biological processes, such as grain yield and adaptation to various abiotic stresses, including drought. In wheat, WD40 gene located on chromosome 4B interacts with the canonical catalases to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) and thereby provide high-level of drought stress tolerance ( Tian et al., 2023 ). The Myb/SANT-like domains are responsible for providing drought stress tolerance by regulating the development of epidermis, stomatal cells, and trichomes as well as by regulating the auxin-salicylic acid cross-talk under the stress ( Tiwari et al., 2020 ).…”

G-Protein β-Subunit Gene TaGB1-B Enhances Drought and Salt Resistance in Wheat

“…TaGB1 contains seven WD40-conserved domains and is a member of the WD40 protein family. WD40 proteins are involved in various processes, such as growth and development, metabolite biosynthesis, and immune and stress responses [ 13 , 21 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. Furthermore, it has been shown in Arabidopsis [ 15 , 46 , 47 ], rice [ 29 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], maize [ 51 , 52 , 53 ], and rapeseed [ 54 , 55 ] that G-proteins are involved in abiotic stresses.…”

Asymmetric and parallel subgenome selection co-shape common carp domestication

“…Polyploidization or whole-genome duplication (WGD) is well acknowledged for providing new genetic materials that could enhance adaptability during plant domestication and their subsequent improvement [ 1 ]. For example, ohnologs — duplicated genes resulting from WGDs, are important in generating phenotypic novelties for agronomic design and the evolution of stress resistance [ 2 – 6 ]. In addition, convergent domestication of agronomic traits in an allopolyploid plant could result from genetic variations in a specific subgenome and/or both subgenomes [ 7 – 10 ].…”