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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 59(7)

Genotypic variation for drought stress response traits in soybean. III. Broad-sense heritability of epidermal conductance, osmotic potential, and relative water content

A. T. James A , R. J. Lawn B D and M. Cooper C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Agriculture, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072; now CSIRO Plant Industry, Queensland Biosciences Precinct, 306 Carmody Rd, St Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia.

B Tropical Crop Science Unit, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, and CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Davies Laboratory, Townsville, Qld 4814, Australia.

C Department of Agriculture, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072; now Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., PO Box 1004, Johnston, IA 50131, USA.

D Corresponding author. Email Robert.Lawn@jcu.edu.au

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 59(7) 679-689 https://doi.org/10.1071/AR07161
Submitted: 19 April 2007  Accepted: 18 March 2008   Published: 3 July 2008

Abstract

The broad-sense heritability of 3 traits related to leaf survival in severely stressed plants was studied in several hybrid soybean populations. The 3 traits were epidermal conductance (ge), osmotic potential (π), and relative water content (RWC). The populations were generated by hybridising unrelated parental genotypes previously shown to differ in the 3 traits. ge (mm/s) was measured on well watered plants from 10 populations involving all combinations of 5 parental lines, grown in soil-filled beds in the glasshouse. π (MPa) and RWC (%) were measured on severely stressed plants of 3 populations involving all combinations of 3 different parents, growing into a terminal water deficit under a rainout shelter in the field. Broad-sense heritability for ge was significantly different from zero (P < 0.05) in all 10 populations and ranged from 60% to 93%. Heritability estimates for π70 (the tissue osmotic potential at 70% RWC) ranged from 33% to 71%. Only two estimates were statistically significant (P < 0.05) because of large standard errors and the fact that parental differences were smaller than previously observed. Broad-sense heritability for RWC of severely stressed plants ranged from 40% to 74%, and was statistically significant (P < 0.05) for 2 of the 3 populations. For all 3 traits, F2 progeny distributions were consistent with quantitative inheritance with a high degree of additive gene action. It was concluded that capacity exists to breed varieties with low ge, low π70, and high RWC in stressed plants. However, in the case of osmotic potential, genotypes with lower π70 combined with greater precision of measurement would be needed than proved possible in these studies. Further, specific strategies would be needed to select for the critical RWC, the minimal RWC at which leaf tissues die and which provides a measure of tissue dehydration tolerance. More research is also needed to characterise the dynamic relations between ge, π, and RWC in influencing leaf survival in soybean, before they could be confidently used in a breeding program to improve drought tolerance.

Additional keywords: breeding, drought resistance, leaf survival, turgor maintenance, physiology.


Acknowledgments

The research reported here was supported by CSIRO, the Grains Research and Development Corporation, and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and was undertaken in partial fulfillment of the PhD degree awarded to ATJ by the University of Queensland in 2004.


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