Protein pattern and physiological responses to drought stress in wheat landraces

Drought stress by affecting many physiological aspects of crop plants can limit their productivity in the all-around world. In this study, a field experiment was carried out to investigate the changes in nutrient elements (P, K, Fe and Ca) concentrations, membrane electrolyte leakage, antioxidative enzymes, lipid peroxidation and the intensity of polypeptides of twelve wheat landraces leaves in response to the drought stress conditions. The results showed that PPO, SOD, proline, membrane electrolyte leakage as well as lipid peroxidation were obviously increased under drought stress conditions, while it reduced protein content, P, Fe, Ca and K + concentrations. Moreover, under drought stress conditions, the lowest minerals uptake, cell membrane stability, antioxidant enzymatic activity, and the abundance of some protein spots were observed in Gawdare, Awihang and Khoshab, while the highest was obtained in Tazeabad, Siosemarde, and Baharband, which was related to their ability in ameliorating the negative effects of drought stress by increasing ROS scavenging activities (PPO and SOD), polypeptides expression, proline, nutrient absorption as well as membrane integrity. On the other hand, selecting resistant landraces with higher cell membrane integrity, nutrient uptake and ROS scavenger activity seems to be a promising method that could be used to cope with drought stress on wheat.