Physiological response to drought and Dehydration responsive transcripts (DRTs) from the leaves of water-deficit Indian soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill cv NRC7]

Abstract

Drought is a major reason for reduced productivity in principal food crops including soybean. Development of drought tolerant varieties is imperative to tide over erratic rainfall conditions in Indian context. Here we studied molecular mechanism governing drought tolerance in Indian soybean cultivar NRC7 to identify drought responsive genic biomarkers. Drought associated physiological parameters like relative water content (RWC) and electrolytic leakage studies under water-deficit condition revealed very low water status in the stressed plants. In addition, membrane damage studies on electrolytic leakages revealed that the stressed plants exhibited greater membrane damage than control plants. Differential display RT-PCR (DD-RT-PCR) identified two drought responsive transcripts (gmDRT1 and gmDRT2) from the soybean cultivar NRC7. The identified transcripts were found to have sequence homology with dehydrin protein and ion ATPase transporters. These biomarkers identified for drought tolerance would also help in engineering drought tolerant soybean cultivars.