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Genetic variation in physiological responses of mungbeans (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) to drought

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Abstract

Mungbean is a relatively drought tolerant leguminous crop with a short life cycle. Using leaf water loss (LWL) as a screen for drought tolerance, two mungbean genotypes exhibiting more than two–fold variation in leaf water loss were explored for the genetic variation in their physiological and molecular responses to drought. Efficient stomatal regulation together with better photosynthetic capacity constituted an important trait combination for drought adaptation in water saving low LWL genotype. The stomatal closure under drought was accompanied with a concomitant down-regulation of farnesyl transferase gene. However, cooler canopy temperature, a well branched root system coupled with a relatively higher proline accumulation in water spending high LWL genotype constituted another set of adaptive traits operating when exposed to deficit soil moisture conditions. We report drought induced down-regulation of proline dehydrogenase and the presence of 118 base pair intron in this gene. The high seed yield of low LWL genotype despite a hotter canopy might be attributed to higher net assimilation and quantum yield recorded under drought in this genotype. Thus, these interlinked features contribute to adaptive mechanisms of mungbeans which is widely grown in harsh environments exposed to drought and high temperatures.

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Abbreviations

LWL:

Leaf water loss

ABA:

Abscisic acid

FT:

Farnesyl transferase

bZIP:

basic leucine zipper

RLWC:

Relative leaf water content

P5CS:

Pyrroline 5- Carboxylate synthetase

PDH:

Proline dehydrogenase

PEG:

Polyethylene glycol

qPCR:

quantitative PCR

MES buffer:

2-(N-Morpholino) ethanesulfonic acid

RT-PCR:

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction

BLAST:

Basic Local Alignment Search Tool

Chl:

Chlorophyll

cDNA:

complementary DNA

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Baramati, Pune, 413115, Maharashtra, India

    Susheel Kumar Raina, Venkadasamy Govindasamy, Mahesh Kumar, Ajay Kumar Singh, Jagadish Rane & Paramjit Singh Minhas

  2. ICAR-Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Old Air Field, PO-Rangreth, Srinagar, 190007, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Susheel Kumar Raina

  3. ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India

    Venkadasamy Govindasamy

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  1. Susheel Kumar Raina
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  2. Venkadasamy Govindasamy
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  3. Mahesh Kumar
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  4. Ajay Kumar Singh
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  5. Jagadish Rane
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  6. Paramjit Singh Minhas
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Correspondence to Susheel Kumar Raina.

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Communicated by M. Prasad.

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Raina, S.K., Govindasamy, V., Kumar, M. et al. Genetic variation in physiological responses of mungbeans (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) to drought. Acta Physiol Plant 38, 263 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-016-2280-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-016-2280-x

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