Aegilops tauschii Introgressions Improve Physio-Biochemical Traits and Metabolite Plasticity in Bread Wheat under Drought Stress

With the aim of providing genetic materials for breeding drought-resistant wheat varieties, the physiological and metabolic plasticity of three drought-resistant wheat multiple synthetic derivative lines (MSDLs) and their backcross parent “Norin 61” (N61) were evaluated in response to drought stress. The results indicated that the D-genome introgressions from Aegilops tauschii into the MDSLs improved their drought-adaptive traits. Specifically, MNH5 and MSD345 showed higher photosynthesis rates and triose phosphate utilization than N61 under control conditions, resulting in greater accumulation of glucose and sucrose in the shoots. However, under drought stress, MNH5 and MSD345 had higher intrinsic water use efficiency than MSD53 and N61. The total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase activity increased in all three MSDLs, whereas no significant changes were found in N61 in response to drought stress. Metabolome analysis identified six common drought-induced metabolites in all of the investigated genotypes. However, four metabolites (adenine, gamma aminobutyric acid, histidine, and putrescine) each specifically accumulated in an MSDL in response to drought stress, suggesting that these metabolites are important for MSDL drought resistance. In conclusion, MNH5 and MSD345 showed better adaptive responses to drought stress than MSD53 and N61, suggesting that these two MSDLs could be explored for breeding drought-resistant wheat lines.