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A major terminal drought tolerance QTL of pearl millet is also associated with reduced salt uptake and enhanced growth under salt stress

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Abstract

The performance of a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) of terminal drought tolerance (DT) of pearl millet was assessed under salt stress. The test-cross hybrids of the QTL donor parent (drought tolerant, PRLT 2/89-33), QTL recipient parent (drought sensitive, H 77/833-2), and a set of six near isogenic lines introgressed with a terminal DT-QTL (QTL-NILs) were evaluated for germination and seedling emergence at 7 days after sowing (DAS) in Petri plates at four salinity levels, and at vegetative (24 DAS) and maturity stages at three salinity and alkalinity levels. Na+ and K+ accumulation, their compartmentation in different plant parts, and their effects on growth and yield parameters were evaluated. The DT-QTL donor parent and QTL-NILs accumulated less Na+ in shoot parts at seedling, vegetative and maturity stages, and also partitioned the accumulated Na+ more into nodes and internodes and less into leaves than the drought-sensitive recurrent parent. The pattern of reduced salt accumulation in the drought-tolerant parent and QTL-NILs was consistently associated with better growth and productivity in saline and alkaline treatments. It is concluded that the DT-QTL contributed by PRLT 2/89-33 exerted favourable effects on growth and productivity traits under salt stress by limiting Na+ accumulation in leaves.

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Abbreviations

DAS:

Days after sowing

DT-QTL:

Drought tolerance QTL

DT-QTL-NILs:

DT-QTL-near isogenic lines

ECiw:

Electrical conductivity of the irrigation water

GCA:

General combining ability

MABC:

Marker-assisted backcrossing

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Acknowledgments

The work reported in this study was conducted under the auspices of the Collaborative Project with Scientists & Technologists of Indian Origin Abroad Program (CP-STIO) award to P.C.S. and R.S.Y. by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. Financial support provided by the DST via grant number DST/INT/CP-STIO/2006-07/60/2006 is gratefully acknowledged. Plant materials used in the study was generated in a separate project funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Department for International Development (DFID) to R.S.Y. via grant number BB/F004133/1. The authors are grateful to Professor Tim Flowers for critically reviewing the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal, Haryana, 132001, India

    Parbodh C. Sharma, Dhananjay Singh & Gurbachan Singh

  2. Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, SY23 3EB, UK

    Deepmala Sehgal & Rattan S. Yadav

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  1. Parbodh C. Sharma
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  2. Deepmala Sehgal
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  3. Dhananjay Singh
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  4. Gurbachan Singh
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  5. Rattan S. Yadav
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Correspondence to Rattan S. Yadav.

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Sharma, P.C., Sehgal, D., Singh, D. et al. A major terminal drought tolerance QTL of pearl millet is also associated with reduced salt uptake and enhanced growth under salt stress. Mol Breeding 27, 207–222 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-010-9423-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-010-9423-3

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