Quantitative expression analysis of P5CS and BADH genes in cultivated wheat plants under salt and ABA treatments

Plants encounter various stresses such as drought and salinity which adversely affect growth, development and crop productivity. The expression of the genes Delta -1- pyrroline – 5 - carboxylate synthetase (P5CS) and Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH) extends throughout various protective mechanisms in plants and allows them to adapt to unfavorable environmental conditions. P5CS and BADH genes expression patterns in the wheat cultivars Mahuti and Alamut were studied under salt and ABA treatments using a qRT-PCR technique. Results showed that gene expression patterns were significantly different in these two cultivars. Mahuti had significantly higher expressions of P5CS at 3h compared to other time courses, while Alamut had significantly higher expressions of P5CS at 72h. In addition, these result showed that the P5CS gene expression increased after treatment of ABA and NaCl in both Mahuti and Alamut cultivars. Similarly, Mahuti had significantly higher expressions of BADH at 72h compared to other time courses, while Alamut had significantly higher expressions of BADH at 24h. It is likely that the difference in gene expression patterns between Mahuti as a salt tolerant cultivar and Alamut as a salt sensitive cultivar is due to different signaling pathways that activate P5CS and BADH expressions. Lack of significant difference between these genes expression profile under salt and ABA treatment suggest that P5CS and BADH are not induced by the stresses used in this study. It is also possible that different concentrations of NaCl and ABA are required to cause a change in the expression of P5CS and BADH genes.