Impact of Soil Drought on Yield and Leaf Sugar Content in Wheat: Genotypic and Phenotypic Relationships Compared Using a Doubled Haploid Population

Grela, Magdalena; Quarrie, Steve; Cyganek, Katarzyna; Bocianowski, Jan; Karbarz, Małgorzata; Tyrka, Mirosław; Habash, Dimah; Dziurka, Michał; Kowalczyk, Edyta; Szarski, Wojciech; Czyczyło-Mysza, Ilona Mieczysława

doi:10.3390/ijms26167833

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Impact of Soil Drought on Yield and Leaf Sugar Content in Wheat: Genotypic and Phenotypic Relationships Compared Using a Doubled Haploid Population

by

Magdalena Grela

^1,*

,

Steve Quarrie

^2,†,

Katarzyna Cyganek

¹,

Jan Bocianowski

³

,

Małgorzata Karbarz

⁴

,

Mirosław Tyrka

⁵

,

Dimah Habash

^6,‡,

Michał Dziurka

¹

,

Edyta Kowalczyk

¹,

Wojciech Szarski

¹ and

Ilona Mieczysława Czyczyło-Mysza

^1,*

¹

The Franciszek Gorski Institute of Plant Physiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Niezapominajek 21, 30-239 Kraków, Poland

²

Biology Faculty, Belgrade University, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

³

Department of Mathematical and Statistical Methods, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznań, Poland

⁴

Faculty of Biology and Nature Protection, University of Rzeszow, Zelwerowicza Street 4, 35-601 Rzeszów, Poland

⁵

Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Chemistry, Rzeszów University of Technology, Al. Powstancow Warszawy 12, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland

⁶

Plant Science Department, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

Current address: Newcastle University Business School, 5 Barrack Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4SE, UK.

^‡

Current address: Securewheat, Herts, St. Albans AL3 5RQ, UK.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(16), 7833; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26167833

Submission received: 2 June 2025 / Revised: 22 July 2025 / Accepted: 1 August 2025 / Published: 13 August 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance: 2nd Edition)

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Abstract

Improving yield stability under water-limited conditions is a key objective of wheat breeding programmes. One trait of particular interest is carbohydrate accumulation and remobilisation. This study assessed the genetic basis of aspects of yield and flag leaf sugar contents under drought and well-watered conditions using QTL mapping in a population of 90 doubled haploid lines derived from the cross Chinese Spring × SQ1. As well as soluble sugar content, glucose, fructose, sucrose, and maltose, the traits grain yield (Yld), biomass (Bio), and thousand grain weight (TGW) were also analysed. Analysis of variance showed that genotype, environment and their interactions significantly influenced all the traits studied, with environmental effects explaining up to 74.4% of the total variation. QTL analysis identified 40 QTLs for Yld, TGW, and Bio as well as 53 QTLs for soluble carbohydrates, accounting for up to 40% of phenotypic variation. QTLs coincident for more than one trait were identified on 21 chromosome regions, associated with carbohydrate metabolism and yield performance under drought, particularly on chromosomes 2D, 4A, 4B, 5B, 5D, 6B, and 7A. Candidate genes for several yield-related QTLs were identified. These results provide useful genetic markers for the development of more drought-resistant wheat cultivars.

Keywords: QTL; drought; agronomic traits—yield; biomass; TGW; carbohydrates; DH population; Triticum aestivum

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MDPI and ACS Style

Grela, M.; Quarrie, S.; Cyganek, K.; Bocianowski, J.; Karbarz, M.; Tyrka, M.; Habash, D.; Dziurka, M.; Kowalczyk, E.; Szarski, W.; et al. Impact of Soil Drought on Yield and Leaf Sugar Content in Wheat: Genotypic and Phenotypic Relationships Compared Using a Doubled Haploid Population. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26, 7833. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26167833

AMA Style

Grela M, Quarrie S, Cyganek K, Bocianowski J, Karbarz M, Tyrka M, Habash D, Dziurka M, Kowalczyk E, Szarski W, et al. Impact of Soil Drought on Yield and Leaf Sugar Content in Wheat: Genotypic and Phenotypic Relationships Compared Using a Doubled Haploid Population. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2025; 26(16):7833. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26167833

Chicago/Turabian Style

Grela, Magdalena, Steve Quarrie, Katarzyna Cyganek, Jan Bocianowski, Małgorzata Karbarz, Mirosław Tyrka, Dimah Habash, Michał Dziurka, Edyta Kowalczyk, Wojciech Szarski, and et al. 2025. "Impact of Soil Drought on Yield and Leaf Sugar Content in Wheat: Genotypic and Phenotypic Relationships Compared Using a Doubled Haploid Population" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 26, no. 16: 7833. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26167833

APA Style

Grela, M., Quarrie, S., Cyganek, K., Bocianowski, J., Karbarz, M., Tyrka, M., Habash, D., Dziurka, M., Kowalczyk, E., Szarski, W., & Czyczyło-Mysza, I. M. (2025). Impact of Soil Drought on Yield and Leaf Sugar Content in Wheat: Genotypic and Phenotypic Relationships Compared Using a Doubled Haploid Population. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(16), 7833. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26167833

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Impact of Soil Drought on Yield and Leaf Sugar Content in Wheat: Genotypic and Phenotypic Relationships Compared Using a Doubled Haploid Population

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