Scholarly record

THE ASSESSMENT OF CELL MEMBRANE STABILITY AS AN INDICATOR OF DROUGHT TOLERANCE IN WHEAT

Prof. Dr. Sorin Ciulca, Prof. Dr. Emilian Madosa, Dr. Adriana Ciulca, Prof. Dr. Radu Sumalan, Dr. Cristian Lugojan

Abstract

Membrane stability reflects the ability of cell tissues to hold electrolytes under drought condition by retaining the membrane structure of the leaf cell intact. This indicator has been extensively used as selection criterion for different abiotic stresses including drought and high temperature in wheat. A low frequency of injuries is associated with a high stability of cell membrane, which ensures a better tolerance to water stress. The objective of this research was to evaluate the performance and breeding potential for cell membrane stability among 21 F1 hybrids of seven winter wheat varieties, with different genetic and ecological origin. The over dominance is acting in the inheritance of this indicator in case of nine hybrids, being generally associated with a reduction of membrane stability, except for Fundulea 4 x Turda 2000 and GKKapos x Apullum to which cause an increase of this indicator. For six hybrids the incomplete dominance leads to a reduction of membrane stability, while at four hybrids it was associated with an increase of this. The complete dominance leads to an increase in case of Fundulea 4 x Apullum while for Alex x Apullum induce a decrease of membrane stability. The hybrids Fundulea 4 x Turda 2000, Fundulea 4 x Apullum and Xenos x Apache submitted the highest potential to improve the membrane stability of leaves in wheat and thus the tolerance to drought. These hybrids are worthy of being taken into account because the expression of membrane stability is under the control of different genes.

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