Fig. 5: Constitutive expression of TaCLE24b contributes to drought stress tolerance in wheat.

a TaCLE24b overexpression lines exhibit enhanced drought tolerance compared to the wild type (CB037). 10 day-old seedlings were subjected to drought stress for 14 days and rehydrated for 10 days before phenotyping. The percentage represents the seedling survival rate. (n = 3, twelve seedlings were used for calculation of percentage for each replication). b Phenotyping of TaCLE24b overexpression lines and WT at maturity under drought stress conditions (left). Flag leaf chlorophyll contents of TaCLE24b overexpression lines and WT at maturity under drought stress conditions (right). The box plots display the interquartile range, comprising the first quartile, median, and third quartile, while the whiskers extend from the minimum to the maximum values. Two-tailed Student’s t-test, (n = 9). c Seed phenotypes and thousand-kernel weight of WT and TaCLE24b overexpression lines under drought stress conditions. Error bars represent standard deviation. Two-tailed Student’s t-test, (n = 3, 200 seeds were used for calculation of thousand-kernel weight for each replication). d TaCLE24b overexpression lines show reduced water loss compared to the wild type. Leaves of 14 day-old plants were detached and weighed at 30 min intervals. The box plots display the interquartile range, comprising the first quartile, median, and third quartile, while the whiskers extend from the minimum to the maximum values. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001, two-tailed Student’s t-test, (n = 5). e Statistical analysis of closed stomata under drought conditions between TaCLE24b overexpression lines and WT. The box plots display the interquartile range, comprising the first quartile, median, and third quartile, while the whiskers extend from the minimum to the maximum values. Two-tailed Student’s t-test, (n = 10, 20 stomata were used for calculation of percentage for each replication). f Statistical analysis of closed stomata under normal conditions between TaCLE24b overexpression lines and WT. The box plots display the interquartile range, comprising the first quartile, median, and third quartile, while the whiskers extend from the minimum to the maximum values. Two-tailed Student’s t-test, (n = 10, 20 stomata were used for calculation of percentage for each replication). g Statistical analysis of closed stomata under drought conditions between TaCLE24 knockout lines and WT. The box plots display the interquartile range, comprising the first quartile, median, and third quartile, while the whiskers extend from the minimum to the maximum values. Two-tailed Student’s t-test, (n = 10, 20 stomata were used for calculation of percentage for each replication). h Statistical analysis of closed stomata under normal conditions between TaCLE24 knockout lines and WT. The box plots display the interquartile range, comprising the first quartile, median, and third quartile, while the whiskers extend from the minimum to the maximum values. Two-tailed Student’s t-test, (n = 10, 20 stomata were used for calculation of percentage for each replication).