| ABSTRACT: In acid soils, toxic aluminum ions inhibit plant root growth. In order to discriminate aluminum (Al) tolerance, trustful screening techniques are required. In this study, 20 wheat cultivars, showing different levels of Al tolerance, were evaluated in a short-term soil experiment to access their relative root length (RRL). Moreover, the alleles of two important genes (TaALMT1 and TaMATE1B) for Al tolerance in wheat were discriminated. Both of these genes encode membrane transporters responsible for the efflux of organic acids by the root apices that are thought to confer tolerance by chelating Al. Genotypes showing TaALMT1 alleles V and VI and an insertion at the TaMATE1B promoter were among the ones showing greater RRL. Mechanisms of Al... |
