Salt stress response single genes expression in diploid and autopolyploid Hordeum bulbosum

Abstract

Soil salinity is a worldwide problem, which hinders the growth of crop yields and brings great challenges to the world. To deal with the reduction of agricultural land, research and cultivating the development of salt-tolerant crops are urgently needed. Autotetraploidy has played an important role in plant evolution and plant speciation. An autotetraploid wild grass species (Hordeum bulbosum) has advantages in high-salt environments. However, the function of single genes in autopolyploid for salt tolerance is poorly unknown. Physiological activities related to a single functional gene are important for the salt resistance in barley; the release of protective metabolites is promoted by the single function gene. The purpose of this study is to compare the difference in gene expression of single genes between diploid and autotetraploid wild barley. The diploid and autotetraploid wild barley that were used in this study were both incubated with saline and water before comparing their level of gene expression of single genes. The results showed that there is no consistent expression change for all target genes between diploid and autotetraploid, which indicated that polyploidization could result in the gene expression change, either increase or decrease based on each gene. Even if the use of polyploid crops to combat land salinization requires further research, the prospects of salt-tolerant crops are promising.