Abstract
Chloroplast-to-nucleus retrograde signalling enables rapid stress responses in plants, but whether these signals accumulate to affect crop performance across entire growing seasons under field conditions remains unknown. We generated wheat mutants with targeted deletions in specific SAL gene copies from two distinct homeologous groups (TaSAL1 and TaSAL2), creating lines with enhanced stress signal responsiveness. We tested these lines across 15 field trials spanning diverse Australian environments with varying temperatures, rainfall, and irrigation regimes, measuring physiological responses, yield, biomass, and water productivity. Lines with TaSAL2 gene deletions showed 4-8% yield improvements with enhanced water productivity, while TaSAL1 deletions reduced yields. The TaSAL2 mutants maintained superior photosynthetic function under drought stress, showed improved relative water content, and demonstrated enhanced yield stability across environments. Canopy temperature measurements revealed dynamic stomatal regulation, with increased closure during midday stress periods but normal aperture under benign conditions. Significantly, specific SAL modifications enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and stress resilience without traditional yield penalties. Targeted modification of specific SAL homeologous groups can simultaneously improve both yield and stress tolerance in wheat. This demonstrates that retrograde signalling integrates environmental information across the plant lifecycle and highlights the importance of locus-specific targeting and multienvironment field validation for crop modifications.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
TaSAL2 deletions improved yield by 4-8%.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivume1 - Treatment
- TaSAL2 gene deletionse0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- improvementse0
- Value
- 4-8%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Lines with TaSAL2 gene deletions showed 4-8% yield improvements with enhanced water productivity”
e1“We generated wheat mutants”
Claim · model-written summary
TaSAL2 deletion lines had enhanced water productivity.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- TaSAL2 gene deletionse0
- Outcome
- water productivitye0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Lines with TaSAL2 gene deletions showed 4-8% yield improvements with enhanced water productivity”
e1“We generated wheat mutants”
Claim · model-written summary
TaSAL1 deletions reduced yield.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- TaSAL1 deletionse0
- Outcome
- yieldse0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“TaSAL1 deletions reduced yields”
e1“We generated wheat mutants”
Claim · model-written summary
TaSAL2 mutants maintained superior photosynthetic function during drought.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Material
- TaSAL2 mutantse0
- Outcome
- photosynthetic functione0
- Direction
- superiore0
- Qualifier
- under drought stresse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The TaSAL2 mutants maintained superior photosynthetic function under drought stress”
e1“We generated wheat mutants”
Claim · model-written summary
TaSAL2 mutants improved relative water content.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Outcome
- relative water contente0
- Direction
- improvede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“showed improved relative water content”
e1“We generated wheat mutants”
Claim · model-written summary
TaSAL2 mutants had enhanced yield stability across environments.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Outcome
- yield stabilitye0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Qualifier
- across environmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“demonstrated enhanced yield stability across environments”
e1“We generated wheat mutants”
Claim · model-written summary
Stomatal closure increased during midday stress.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Outcome
- closuree0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- during midday stress periodse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“increased closure during midday stress periods but normal aperture under benign conditions”
e1“We generated wheat mutants”
Claim · model-written summary
Stomatal aperture was normal under benign conditions.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Outcome
- normal aperturee0
- Qualifier
- under benign conditionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“normal aperture under benign conditions”
e1“We generated wheat mutants”
Claim · model-written summary
Specific SAL modifications enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and stress resilience without yield penalties.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- specific SAL modificationse0
- Outcome
- photosynthetic efficiency and stress resiliencee0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Qualifier
- without traditional yield penaltiese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“specific SAL modifications enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and stress resilience without traditional yield penalties”
e1“We generated wheat mutants”
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