Identification and characterization of a cDNA encoding ZIP transporter protein in Triticum dicoccoides

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1221505 (Table of Contents)

Wild emmer wheats exhibit a potential genetic resource for wheat improvement and increased food production. In this study, different accessions of wild emmer wheat, Triticum dicoccoides, were studied for their Zn deficiency tolerance which is particularly prevalent in wheat leading to significant reduction in yield and nutritional quality of grains. T.dicoccoides, selected from a screening study, were grown under Zn deficient conditions. Three T. durum wheats, Balcali 85, Ç-1252 and Meram, were also included in this study as standard. Increasing data are being accumulated to identify proteins that are involved in Zn deficiency. Hence, ZIP family of metal transporter proteins are extensively being studied. In this study, identification of cDNA encoding ZIP transporter protein in wild emmer wheat was studied. The result revealed that cDNA does not have high level of polymorphism compared to cultivated wheats. The expression of identified ZIP transcript was measured using root and shoot of plants subjected to Zn deficiency. Quantitative Real-time PCR results revealed that ZIP transcript levels are elevated with decreasing Zn supply in all accessions. ZIP transcript accumulation was lower in root of MM5/4 accession, which is the most tolerant accession to Zn deficiency, than that of 19-36 accession, which is one of the most susceptible accessions. This is most likely because the susceptible genotype senses the Zn deficiency stress earlier than the tolerant does so that the response of 19-36 root cells are much quicker than the response of MM 5/4 root cells. The low level expression and the absence of ZIP transcript at 10-4 M Zn concentration suggested that this ZIP metal transporter found in these accessions was Zn-specific.