A somaclonal myrobalan rootstock increases waterlogging tolerance to peach cultivar in controlled conditions

• Prunus cerasifera somaclonal variant induces short term flooding tolerance in peach.
• Anatomical and physiological modifications occur in Prunus rootstock anoxic tolerant.
• The isogenic variant is a profitable tool to identify anoxic tolerant DNA sequences.

Plants are aerobic organisms that require the availability of O2 for nutrient uptake, so excess water surrounding roots can generate lethal conditions. Therefore a new flood-tolerant stone-fruit rootstock was used in a grafted combination with peach cv Suncrest (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.) used as scion, to test its tolerance strength during a twenty-one day flooding period. Potted plants, from graft combination of cv Suncrest with rootstock Mr.S 2/5 wild type (Prunus cerasifera Erhr) and its clone variant (S.4), were submitted to normoxic and flooded stress for 21 days, under open conditions. Suncrest/S.4 plants had the highest plant growth under normoxic condition and the highest plant survival under flooded conditions. Under flooded conditions a halt in plant growth and the appearance of severe damage were detected in the Suncrest/wt plants. In the latter, symptoms of flooding were desiccation of the shoot apex, strong reddening of leaves followed by appearance of necrotic areas and senescence of almost all leaves.The responses observed in all organs of the grafted plant could be linked to relevant morpho-physiological adaptations to flooding that would ensure survival during short periods of anoxia. Results also provided evidence that flooding tolerance was conferred by the S.4 clone to the scion. The availability of a novel rootstock tolerant to short-term waterlogging conditions will offer new possibilities to the stone-fruit industry located in various adverse environments.