Comparative assessment of the photosynthetic pigment content among representatives of intraspecific taxa in Pisum sativum L.

Background. Higher content of photosynthetic pigments (PP) and longer time of their functioning increase the yield and resistance to abiotic stressors in plants. It is especially relevant for pea (Pisum sativum L.), since more and more leafless cultivars are introduced into production. Homologs of the STAY-GREEN gene (SGR), with mutations enabling leaves to photosynthesize longer, have been described for a number of crops, including pea. Therefore, searching for sources of higher PP levels throughout the entire pea growing season is promising for the crop’s yield increase.

Materials and methods. The analysis included 21 accessions of five P. sativum subspecies from the VIR collection. The content of chlorophyll (Chl a and Chl b), carotenoids, and chlorophyllide (Chlide a) in stipules was assessed on the first productive node at the start and the end of the seed-filling period.

Results. The analyzed accessions showed significant polymorphism in their PP content. Principal component analysis divided the material into two categories: with high and low PP content. Both included representatives of different intraspecific taxa. Wild pea accession k-3370 (subsp. elatius) had the highest PP content both at the start and the end of its seed-filling period, along with a significantly higher ratio of chlorophyll to chlorophyllide, a chlorophyll degradation product. The latter indicator attested to the resistance of chlorophyll to degradation during the completion of seed filling.

Conclusion. Accessions with high PP content, comparable with the highest values in wild accession k-3370 and exceeding the values in contemporary pea cultivars, can serve as sources of this trait for the development of new high-yielding genotypes. Primitive cultivated forms of subspp. transcaucasicum and asiaticum are especially valuable in this context. Since all the studied accessions represented the primary genepool of P. sativum, the trait can be transferred to the cultivars under development.

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