Breeding for Early Heat Stress Tolerance in Wheat

Year 2025, Volume: 11 Issue: 1, 1 - 10, 31.01.2025

Meghana Singh Rajotia Om Parkash Bishnoi Rishi Kumar Behl Jagdeep Singh Akshay Kumar Vats S. Ahmet Bağci

Abstract

Wheat, a major contributor to global food security, is highly vulnerable to early heat stress, particularly as climate
change intensifies. Early sowing practiced to optimize moisture and avoid terminal heat stress, exposes crops to elevated
temperatures during critical stages like germination, tillering, and grain filling. As a C3 plant, wheat thrives at 15-20°C,
but early heat disrupts photosynthesis, reduce chlorophyll content, impair carbon partitioning, and negatively affect grain
quality and yield. To combat these challenges, wheat exhibits various adaptive mechanisms, including improved membrane
stability, enhanced photosynthesis, and activation of heat shock proteins (HSPs) that protect cellular components from
heat damage. Breeding strategies should be adopted to mitigate early heat stress to sustain wheat production. Traditional
breeding focuses on selecting resilient genotypes, while advanced techniques like genome-wide association studies
(GWAS), marker-assisted selection, and CRISPR-Cas9 offer precise genetic improvements. Speed breeding further
accelerates development of heat-tolerant varieties. Screening tools like Canopy Temperature Depression (CTD), Heat
Susceptibility Index (HSI), and SPAD meter readings for chlorophyll content help identify tolerant genotypes. Integrating
genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics technologies enhances the understanding of heat tolerance mechanisms.
Collaborative efforts among breeders, biotechnologists and agronomists are crucial for developing heat-resilient wheat,
ensuring global food security amidst climate change.

Keywords

early heat stress, heat tolerance, breeding strategies, heat shock proteins, CRISPR-Cas9

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