Screening for sodium exclusion in wheat and barley

Abstract

Accessions and cultivars of the genus Triticum (T. monococcum, T. urartu, T. tauschii, T. durum and T. aestivum) and of Hordeum (H. vulgare and H. spontaneum), from different geographical locations, were screened for sodium exclusion. Species from both genera demonstrated a range of differences in Na+ exclusion/accumulation in the shoot. The greatest polymorphism for Na⁺ exclusion was found in T. monococcum accessions, where there was more than 50-fold difference between the lowest excluder and the highest accumulator, while T. durum, showed minimal variability in Na⁺ exclusion, (less than 1.5-fold). These results are important for guiding a strategic choice of parental forms, and reflect the pressure of both natural and artificial selection, as well as on adaptation in both wild accessions and cultivated forms to high salinity environments.