Dehydrin responsive HVA1 driven inducible gene expression enhanced salt and drought tolerance in wheat

Heterologous expression of plant genes is becoming an important strategy for the improvement of specific traits in existing cultivars. This study presents the response of a salt-sensitive high-yielding wheat variety under stress-inducible expression of barley HVA1 gene belonging to the Late embryogenesis abundance (LEA) gene family. Six homozygous transgenic wheat plants were developed and advanced for testing under various water regimes and salt stress conditions. Putative transgenic plants showed better germination and root shoot development at the early developmental stages under drought stress conditions. Moreover, transgenic plants illustrated higher values of physiological features as compared to non-transgenic plants under both drought and salinity stresses that indicate improved physiological processes in transgenic plants. Higher membrane stability index (MSI) and lower electrolyte leakage (EL) after exposure to abiotic stresses reveal improved cellular membrane stability (CMS) and reduced injury to chloroplast membrane. Interestingly, under salinity stress, transgenic wheat plants showed preference towards higher K+ accumulation in the shoot, which is not a well-understood HVA1 mediated Na + avoidance mechanism under excessive subsurface salts. The predisposition of K+/Na + under salt stress conditions on heterologous expression of the HVA1 gene in wheat needs to be studied in detail in further studies. •Expression of barley HVA1 gene in wheat is a useful strategy to enhance stress tolerance.•Transgenic homozygous wheat showed better physiological features under both stresses.•HVA1 gene expression in salt sensitive wheat variety showed promising results.•Improved CMS of chloroplast membrane is depicted as better photosynthetic activity in transgenic wheat.