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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.04.12.488037

Genotype-dependent responses to long-term water stress in Chenopodium quinoa Willd

Maestro-Gaitan, I.·Granado-Rodriguez, S.·Orus, M. I.·Matias Prieto, J.·Cruz Sobrado, V.·Bolanios Rosa, L.·Reguera, M.
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Abstract

Within the current climate context, freshwater resources have become scarce. Agriculture, especially in rain-fed conditions, should deal with the need for increasing yields to contribute to food security under limiting water availability. Exploring underutilized crops such as Chenopodium quinoa (quinoa) has become a unique opportunity as some of these crops possess the ability to tolerate several abiotic stresses, including drought. In line with this, this work aimed at evaluating the genotype-dependent response to drought by comparing the performance of different European-adapted cultivars (F14, F15, F16, and Titicaca). The results show that the cultivars here evaluated presented different mechanisms to cope with long-term water stress, including changes in phenology, morphology, or physiology. Among them, the cultivar F16 might be the most promising genotype to grow under water-limiting conditions as it was able to increase Water Use Efficiency (WUE), reducing the stomatal conductance and keeping CO2 assimilation rates similar to well-watered conditions, maintaining seed yield and increasing harvest index (HI) under water deficit conditions. Furthermore, based on these results, we propose a model in which differences between a tolerant and a sensitive genotype are presented. Altogether, we believe that this work will significantly contribute to broadening our understanding regarding how quinoa responds to long-term water stress highlighting genotype-related differences that will allow the selection of the best adapted genotypes for water-limiting environments. HighlightQuinoa physiological, phenological, and morphological distinct responses to long-term water stress depending on the genotype.

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Maestro-Gaitan, I., Granado-Rodriguez, S., Orus, M. I., Matias Prieto, J., Cruz Sobrado, V., Bolanios Rosa, L., Reguera, M.. 2022-04-13. Genotype-dependent responses to long-term water stress in Chenopodium quinoa Willd. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.12.488037

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