Türkiye'nin buğday çeşitlerinde kadmiyum stresinin agro-morfolojik ve fizyolojik parametreler üzerindeki etkisi

Wheat is vital for global food security, but its growth and development can be significantly affected by environmental stress factors such as heavy metals. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of cadmium exposure on seedling growth and the accumulation of antioxidant and non-antioxidant enzymes in different wheat varieties. The study found that the effects of Cd on seed germination decreased as Cd concentrations increased, but there was no significant difference in the response of all wheat types to Cd stress. In T. aestivum, T. monococcum, T. dicoccum, and T. turgidum, 500 µM Cd application was found to reduce seed viability. However, there was no significant effect on the dry weight of plants grown in petri dishes. In soil experiments, different Cd concentrations were found to have no significant effect on root and shoot growth, but in T. dicoccum, different Cd concentrations caused a decrease in fresh and dry shoot weight. Additionally, it was determined that the total protein content increased in wheat varieties exposed to Cd stress, while CAT activity either increased or decreased depending on the wheat species. Furthermore, as part of this research, sequence analyses were conducted to effectively distinguish the phylogenetic relationships among local wheat varieties in Turkey by sequencing the ITS2, matK, and rbcL regions. The study reveals that local wheat varieties have a close relationship with Triticum and that their growth and development can be significantly affected by environmental stress factors such as cadmium. It has been found that ITS2 sequences, particularly, are highly effective in resolving phylogenetic relationships due to their high interspecies variation. Similarly, rbcL sequences have also been proven effective, as evidenced by high bootstrap support values and clear clade differentiation. Although matK sequences were not obtained for T. aestivum, the matK tree still provided valuable insights into the relationships between T. monococcum and T. dicoccum.