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Dissecting Root-Specific Drought Responses in Contrasting Wheat Genotypes Through RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR Validation.

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Title: Dissecting Root-Specific Drought Responses in Contrasting Wheat Genotypes Through RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR Validation.
Authors: Mathur, Priyanka1 (AUTHOR), Munjal, Renu1 (AUTHOR) munjalrenu66@gmail.com, Kumari, Anita1 (AUTHOR), Beniwal, Jogender2 (AUTHOR), Bhambhu, Mukul Kumar3 (AUTHOR), Saini, Shubham4 (AUTHOR), Rahimi, Mehdi5,6 (AUTHOR) mehdi83ra@gmail.com, Kordrostami, Mojtaba7 (AUTHOR)
Source: Plant Molecular Biology Reporter. Dec2025, Vol. 43 Issue 4, p2475-2490. 16p.
Subject Terms: *DROUGHT tolerance, *REVERSE transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, *GENE expression, *SUSTAINABLE agriculture, *RNA sequencing, *DROUGHTS, *TRANSCRIPTOMES, WHEAT genetics
Abstract: Water deficit poses a significant threat to global crop production, with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) being particularly vulnerable. Although previous transcriptomic studies have identified numerous drought-responsive genes, the molecular distinctions between drought-tolerant and susceptible wheat genotypes remain incompletely characterized. This study employs a comparative transcriptomic approach in root tissues of two contrasting wheat genotypes—WH 1025 (tolerant) and WH 1105 (susceptible)—to dissect genotype-specific gene expression dynamics under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced drought stress. At 72 h of stress, a markedly higher number of genes (65,698 out of 136,770) were expressed in WH 1025 compared to WH 1105 (54,195 genes), corroborating morpho-physiological and biochemical assessments of drought adaptability. Differential expression analysis revealed more upregulated (204) and fewer downregulated (10) genes in WH 1025, whereas WH 1105 exhibited fewer upregulated (114) and more downregulated (12) genes. KEGG pathway enrichment revealed a predominance of drought-responsive DEGs in the "Metabolism" category, with WH 1025 uniquely enriching pathways such as xenobiotic metabolism and thiamine biosynthesis—mechanistic systems not previously linked to drought resilience in wheat. Furthermore, transcription factor families including C2H2 and MYB were exclusively upregulated in WH 1025, indicating the presence of novel regulatory modules critical to drought adaptation. These findings advance our understanding of genotype-dependent transcriptional responses and provide new targets for engineering climate-resilient wheat varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Database: Academic Search Index
Description
Abstract:Water deficit poses a significant threat to global crop production, with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) being particularly vulnerable. Although previous transcriptomic studies have identified numerous drought-responsive genes, the molecular distinctions between drought-tolerant and susceptible wheat genotypes remain incompletely characterized. This study employs a comparative transcriptomic approach in root tissues of two contrasting wheat genotypes—WH 1025 (tolerant) and WH 1105 (susceptible)—to dissect genotype-specific gene expression dynamics under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced drought stress. At 72 h of stress, a markedly higher number of genes (65,698 out of 136,770) were expressed in WH 1025 compared to WH 1105 (54,195 genes), corroborating morpho-physiological and biochemical assessments of drought adaptability. Differential expression analysis revealed more upregulated (204) and fewer downregulated (10) genes in WH 1025, whereas WH 1105 exhibited fewer upregulated (114) and more downregulated (12) genes. KEGG pathway enrichment revealed a predominance of drought-responsive DEGs in the "Metabolism" category, with WH 1025 uniquely enriching pathways such as xenobiotic metabolism and thiamine biosynthesis—mechanistic systems not previously linked to drought resilience in wheat. Furthermore, transcription factor families including C2H2 and MYB were exclusively upregulated in WH 1025, indicating the presence of novel regulatory modules critical to drought adaptation. These findings advance our understanding of genotype-dependent transcriptional responses and provide new targets for engineering climate-resilient wheat varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:07359640
DOI:10.1007/s11105-025-01627-w