Transcriptional reprogramming under drought reveals divergent adaptive strategies in Quinoa
These results suggest that drought tolerance in quinoa involves a finely regulated, genotype-specific coordination of gene networks and hormonal pathways that control development, metabolism, and stress responses in an organ-dependent manner. The tolerant cultivar F16 exhibited a more controlled transcriptional and hormonal response under drought, maintaining photosynthetic and metabolic stability while activating protective mechanisms related to sugar and osmolyte metabolism, including raffinose and stachyose biosynthesis, as well as cytokinin-mediated regulation of senescence. This study identifies molecular targets for future breeding efforts to improve quinoa drought tolerance for cultivation in water-limited environments.
Authors
- Ángel M. Zamarreño (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1966-0239)
- María Reguera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5939-8576)
- Miguel Redondo‐Nieto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3361-520X)
- José María García‐Mina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6352-9612)
- Isaac Maestro‐Gaitán (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8243-167X)
- Sara González-Bodí (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3178-2976)
- Luis Bolaños (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7746-3789)
- Sara Granado‐Rodríguez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9618-5051)
- Javier Matías
- Laura Rodríguez‐Casillas
- Gabriel Rennato Hassinger‐Lino
Institutions
- Government of Extremadura (ES)
- Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (ES)
- Centro Tecnológico Nacional Agroalimentario Extremadura (ES)
- Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics (ES)
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES)
- Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ES)
- Universidad de Navarra (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Plant Biology
- Published
- 2025-12-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-07687-0
- Primary Topic
- Seed and Plant Biochemistry
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00