Revealing drought tolerance strategies in pistachio clonal hybrids: role of osmotic adjustment

Abstract Background Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) growth, yield and quality are affected by abiotic stress especially drought. Understanding the strategies that improve dehydration tolerance is essential for developing resistant pistachio rootstocks. In the experiment, nine-month-old saplings of seve...

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Main Authors: Mozhdeh Osku, Mahmoud Reza Roozban, Saadat Sarikhani, Mohammad Mehdi Arab, Mohammad Akbari, Kourosh Vahdati
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-05-01
Series:BMC Plant Biology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06583-x
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author Mozhdeh Osku
Mahmoud Reza Roozban
Saadat Sarikhani
Mohammad Mehdi Arab
Mohammad Akbari
Kourosh Vahdati
author_facet Mozhdeh Osku
Mahmoud Reza Roozban
Saadat Sarikhani
Mohammad Mehdi Arab
Mohammad Akbari
Kourosh Vahdati
author_sort Mozhdeh Osku
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) growth, yield and quality are affected by abiotic stress especially drought. Understanding the strategies that improve dehydration tolerance is essential for developing resistant pistachio rootstocks. In the experiment, nine-month-old saplings of seven clonal interspecies hybrids of Pistacia atlantica × P. integerrima (C1, C2, C16-1, C8-3, C4-2, C9-4 and UCB1) were assessed for growth and physiological responses to water withholding and recovery. Result Water deficit negatively impacted growth parameters, including shoot dry weight, root dry weight and leaf area, in all hybrids; however, the C1 demonstrated relatively minor reductions compared to the other hybrids. Glycine betaine content in leaves increased by 49.4% in C9-4 and 47% in C1, while only 7% and 11% increases were found in the most sensitive clones, C8-3 and C4-2. Notably, C9-4, identified as the most tolerant clone, displayed the highest proline levels, with increases of 29.5% in leaves and 41.5% in roots, in contrast to C8-3, which showed minimal increases of 6% and 11% in leaves and roots, respectively. Clones with higher compatible solutes maintained higher relative water content (RWC), lower osmotic potential and smaller reductions in leaf water potential. RWC declined by just 6% in C9-4, whereas it dropped by 88% in C8-3. Osmotic potentials in C9-4 were − 1.61 MPa in leaves and − 0.271 MPa in roots, while in C8-3, they were − 0.93 MPa and − 0.11 MPa in leaves and roots, respectively. Following recovery, evaluations of growth, physiological traits and visual observations indicated that C8-3 had poor recovery ability. Heatmap and PCA analyses categorized the clones into three groups: “tolerant” (C9-4, C1 and C2), “moderately tolerant” (UCB1) and “sensitive” (C8-3, C4-2 and C16-1). Conclusion The results of this study underscore the significance of osmotic adjustment as a more critical trait compared to growth and stomatal parameters in effectively differentiating tolerant clones from sensitive ones.
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spelling doaj-art-e3f0582197a04af4911430ccde6ffef62025-08-20T02:55:38ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292025-05-0125112210.1186/s12870-025-06583-xRevealing drought tolerance strategies in pistachio clonal hybrids: role of osmotic adjustmentMozhdeh Osku0Mahmoud Reza Roozban1Saadat Sarikhani2Mohammad Mehdi Arab3Mohammad Akbari4Kourosh Vahdati5Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Technology (Aburaihan), University of TehranDepartment of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Technology (Aburaihan), University of TehranDepartment of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Technology (Aburaihan), University of TehranSchool of Biotechnology, College of Science, University of TehranRoyeshe Sabze Frada Research Center (Pistat), Nazari Business GroupDepartment of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Technology (Aburaihan), University of TehranAbstract Background Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) growth, yield and quality are affected by abiotic stress especially drought. Understanding the strategies that improve dehydration tolerance is essential for developing resistant pistachio rootstocks. In the experiment, nine-month-old saplings of seven clonal interspecies hybrids of Pistacia atlantica × P. integerrima (C1, C2, C16-1, C8-3, C4-2, C9-4 and UCB1) were assessed for growth and physiological responses to water withholding and recovery. Result Water deficit negatively impacted growth parameters, including shoot dry weight, root dry weight and leaf area, in all hybrids; however, the C1 demonstrated relatively minor reductions compared to the other hybrids. Glycine betaine content in leaves increased by 49.4% in C9-4 and 47% in C1, while only 7% and 11% increases were found in the most sensitive clones, C8-3 and C4-2. Notably, C9-4, identified as the most tolerant clone, displayed the highest proline levels, with increases of 29.5% in leaves and 41.5% in roots, in contrast to C8-3, which showed minimal increases of 6% and 11% in leaves and roots, respectively. Clones with higher compatible solutes maintained higher relative water content (RWC), lower osmotic potential and smaller reductions in leaf water potential. RWC declined by just 6% in C9-4, whereas it dropped by 88% in C8-3. Osmotic potentials in C9-4 were − 1.61 MPa in leaves and − 0.271 MPa in roots, while in C8-3, they were − 0.93 MPa and − 0.11 MPa in leaves and roots, respectively. Following recovery, evaluations of growth, physiological traits and visual observations indicated that C8-3 had poor recovery ability. Heatmap and PCA analyses categorized the clones into three groups: “tolerant” (C9-4, C1 and C2), “moderately tolerant” (UCB1) and “sensitive” (C8-3, C4-2 and C16-1). Conclusion The results of this study underscore the significance of osmotic adjustment as a more critical trait compared to growth and stomatal parameters in effectively differentiating tolerant clones from sensitive ones.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06583-xOsmolyte accumulationStomatal parametersWater withholdingRootstockUCB1
spellingShingle Mozhdeh Osku
Mahmoud Reza Roozban
Saadat Sarikhani
Mohammad Mehdi Arab
Mohammad Akbari
Kourosh Vahdati
Revealing drought tolerance strategies in pistachio clonal hybrids: role of osmotic adjustment
BMC Plant Biology
Osmolyte accumulation
Stomatal parameters
Water withholding
Rootstock
UCB1
title Revealing drought tolerance strategies in pistachio clonal hybrids: role of osmotic adjustment
title_full Revealing drought tolerance strategies in pistachio clonal hybrids: role of osmotic adjustment
title_fullStr Revealing drought tolerance strategies in pistachio clonal hybrids: role of osmotic adjustment
title_full_unstemmed Revealing drought tolerance strategies in pistachio clonal hybrids: role of osmotic adjustment
title_short Revealing drought tolerance strategies in pistachio clonal hybrids: role of osmotic adjustment
title_sort revealing drought tolerance strategies in pistachio clonal hybrids role of osmotic adjustment
topic Osmolyte accumulation
Stomatal parameters
Water withholding
Rootstock
UCB1
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06583-x
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