Poster Session 2, 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM: Campus Center Auditorium [A13]

Synthetic Strigolactone GR24 Enhances Cellular Salinity Tolerance in Wheat

Presenter: Jaliah Jada Vargas

Faculty Sponsor: Reena Randhir

School: Springfield Technical Community College

Research Area: Biology

ABSTRACT

Soil salinity is a growing environmental concern that affecting crop yields globally. In wheat (Triticum aestivum) it severely limits productivity as it disrupts homeostasis, cellular ion balance, photosynthesis, as well as antioxidant defense systems. Since salinization continues to expand across arable land, it is imperative that we identify strategies that enhance cellular stress tolerance in crops in order to ensure food security. This research is a literature review in Nature database. It studied whether synthetic Strigolactone GR24 a plant hormone analogue, is able to enhance salinity tolerance in wheat by regulating antioxidant enzyme activity, ion homeostasis, as well as stress responsive gene expression.
There were three different wheat cultivars with differing salinity tolerance (Sistan, Pishtaz, and Tajen) were treated with 10µM GR24. They were then exposed to moderate and high salinity levels (5 and 15 dS/m), which was then followed by biochemical, physiological, and gene expression analysis. Main results showed that Strigolactone GR24 significantly increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes. This included ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, as well as polyphenol oxidase but reduced guaiacol peroxidase activity. Treated plants showed higher levels of potassium, chlorophyll, and carotenoid, as well as higher proline content accompanied by reduced accumulation of sodium. This also resulted in decrease of main indicators of oxidative damage such as malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and electrolyte leakage. Analysis of gene expression also revealed increased regulation of stress responsive and ion antiporter genes involved in maintaining Na⁺/K⁺ homeostasis, specifically in Sistan and Tajen cultivars at 15 dS/m. The findings show that Strigolactone GR24 was able to enhance salinity tolerance in wheat as it strengthened antioxidant defenses, improved ionic balance, and reduced oxidative stress at the cellular level. The definite responses observed in tolerant cultivars call attention to genotypic specific benefits of Strigolactone signaling. Altogether, GR24 constitutes a promising tool to help improve wheat performance under saline conditions. Future research would benefit from field level applications and interactions between Strigolactones and other phytohormonal pathways to greater support crop resilience in saline environments.  

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