Identification of Differential Regulated Genes in Response to Salinity in Bread Wheat by using cDNA-AFLP Method

Salinity stress is one of the unfavorable environmental conditions leading to loss of yield in wheat. Therefore, the discovery of differentially activated transcripts and understanding of their role in the salinity-treated wheat are indispensable for improving salt resistance. To explore the salinity-responsive genes, we assayed transcripts from salt-stressed and control wheat by using cDNA-AFLP approach. Based our observations, 31 transcript-derived fragments (TDFs) were successfully sequenced. BLASTX search revealed that most of the TDFs were belonged to the genes responsible for metabolism and energy, cell defense, transcription control, transport, signal transduction, and protein degradation functional groups. Real-time polymerase chain reaction displayed that 18 TDFs up-regulated and four down-regulated under salinity. Overall, these findings can enhance our understanding on the molecular mechanisms of salt response in wheat. Besides, the identification of novel salinity-responsive genes can represent important information, which in turn, assists the improvement of wheat tolerance to this stress in the field.