Increasing drought resistance in susceptible and resistant cultivars of Lathyrus sativus using modern methods

Increasing drought resistance in susceptible and resistant cultivars of Lathyrus sativus using modern methods

Drought is the most common environmental stress that has limited production to approximately 25% of the world’s land and is the second leading cause of yield decline after pathogens. Therefore, achieving cultivars compatible with rainfed conditions and replacing them with native and low-yielding cultivars or producing drought-tolerant plants through new genetic methods is one of the main issues in the plant area in the world. In this project, first, the effective genes in the Lathyrus plant were evaluated using the system biology method, and it was found that the most crucial factor in drought stress in this plant is the transcription factor of the zinc finger. In the next step, this gene was transferred into the plant. To investigate the role of this transcription factor in susceptible and resistant genotypes of Lathyrus, two methods of greenhouse and molecular assays were used. The experiment was performed in a completely randomized design on three levels of ordinary (irrigation 100% of soil water holding capacity), mild stress (50%) and severe stress (25%) on resistant, sensitive plants and Lathyrus containing Zinc Finger gene. In the greenhouse experiment, physiological and biochemical factors (proline content, soluble carbohydrates, chlorophyll content, forage yield, relative water content and activity of oxidative enzymes) were examined. Quantitative gene expression was also analyzed by real-time PCR. This project shows that the zinc finger transcription factor has an influential role in modulating drought stress in the Lathyrus plant.

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