Salt tolerance and regulation of gas exchange and hormonal homeostasis by auxin‑priming in wheat

Abstract

The objective of this work was to assess the regulatory effects of auxin‑priming on gas exchange and hormonal homeostasis in spring wheat subjected to saline conditions. Seeds of MH‑97 (salt‑intolerant) and Inqlab‑91 (salt‑tolerant) cultivars were subjected to 11 priming treatments (three hormones x three concentrations + two controls) and evaluated under saline (15 dS m^-1) and nonsaline (2.84 dS m^-1) conditions. The priming treatments consisted of: 5.71, 8.56, and 11.42 × 10^-4 mol L^-1 indoleacetic acid; 4.92, 7.38, and 9.84 × 10^-4 mol L^-1 indolebutyric acid; 4.89, 7.34, and 9.79 × 10^-4 mol L^-1 tryptophan; and a control with hydroprimed seeds. A negative control with nonprimed seeds was also evaluated. All priming agents diminished the effects of salinity on endogenous abscisic acid concentration in the salt‑intolerant cultivar. Grain yield was positively correlated with net CO₂ assimilation rate and endogenous indoleacetic acid concentration, and it was negatively correlated with abscisic acid and free polyamine concentrations. In general, the priming treatment with tryptophan at 4.89 × 10^-4 mol L^-1 was the most effective in minimizing yield losses and reductions in net CO₂ assimilation rate, under salt stress conditions. Hormonal homeostasis increases net CO₂ assimilation rate and confers tolerance to salinity on spring wheat.