MicroRNA-based markers as a tool to monitor the barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) response to soil compaction

Abstract

Plants are often exposed to adverse environmental conditions that can significantly interfere with their genomic response. Soil compaction induced by heavy field machinery represents a major problem for crop production mainly due to restricted root growth and penetration into soil and therefore reduced water and nutrient uptake by the plants. Tested hypotheses were to declare whether the plant‘s genome responds to soil compaction and whether the microRNA-based markers are suitable to determine this response. A long term field scale experiment was established in 2009 where different levels of soil compaction are researched from the soil and crop point of view. The analyzed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants were collected during the growing season in 2019. The effect of soil compaction was analysed by four different DNA-based markers corresponding to miRNA sequences of dehydratation stress-responsive barley miRNAs (hvu-miR156, and hvu-miR408) and nutrition-sensitive markers (hvu-miR399 and hvu-miR827), within the leaf, stem and root tissues of barley plants. Our preliminary data support hypotheses that plant genome response was tissue-specific due to significant induction of the biomarkers to dehydratation and nutrition stress. The most affected part of the plant by dehydration, were roots and lack of nutrient supply was most pronounced on leaves.

Keywords

• abiotic stress
• crop yield
• mirnas
• root growth