Drought Stress Response of Doubled Haploid Interspecific Rapeseed Hybrids at Germination and Flowering Stages
Daurova A. Daurov D. Sapakhova Z. Toishimanov M. Abilda Z. Kanat R. Shamekova M. Oshergina I. Ten E. Zhambakin K.
March 2026Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Biology
2026#15Issue 5
Drought stress is a major limiting factor for canola production in arid and semi-arid regions, particularly during seed germination, seedling and flowering stages. In this study, we evaluated drought responses of doubled haploid (DH) lines derived from interspecific hybrids of B. napus × B. rapa and their parental cultivars under simulated (PEG-6000) and soil-based drought conditions. Drought stress significantly reduced germination, growth, and physiological performance in all genotypes; however, DH lines consistently exhibited superior tolerance. Under PEG-induced osmotic stress, DH lines maintained higher germination rates, root elongation, and relative water content compared with parental genotypes. During seedling and flowering stages drought, DH lines showed lower accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde, alongside markedly higher antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT and POD) and improved photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm). Gene expression analysis revealed strong induction of drought-responsive genes, including WRKY28, MYB, LTP, WSP, metallothionein, and protein kinase family genes, particularly in DH lines at prolonged stress exposure. Multivariate analyses (PCA and correlation) confirmed a close association between enhanced antioxidant capacity, transcriptional activation, and drought tolerance traits. Overall, our results demonstrate that homozygous doubled haploid lines derived from distant hybridization between B. napus and B. rapa exhibit enhanced drought tolerance at both early and reproductive stages. These genotypes represent valuable genetic resources for breeding drought-tolerance canola cultivars.
canola , doubled haploid , drought , gene expression , PEG
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Laboratory of Breeding and Biotechnology, Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Timiryazev 45, Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan
Faculty of Agrobiology, Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, Almaty, 050010, Kazakhstan
Tanir Research Laboratory, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan
A.I. Barayev Research and Production Center for Grain Farming, Shortandy, 021600, Kazakhstan
Laboratory of Breeding and Biotechnology
Faculty of Agrobiology
Tanir Research Laboratory
A.I. Barayev Research and Production Center for Grain Farming
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