Research articleRegulation of proline biosynthesis and resistance to drought stress in two barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes of different origin

•Proline synthesis under drought is regulated at P5CS transcription and P5CS activity level.•ABA seems to be involved in both transcriptional and post-translational regulations of P5CS.•Proline can affect resistance of studied genotypes to drought.•Resistance of examined genotypes to the applied moderate drought stress was similar.

Drought is considered the main abiotic stress factor that inhibits growth of crop plants (including barley), limiting yield in many regions worldwide. Predicted climate changes show that in future the frequency and intensity of drought events will rise, so crops that are resistant to this stress are in demand. One of the adaptive metabolic responses to drought is the accumulation of proline. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of 10-day drought on tissue dehydration and proline biosynthesis in leaves as well as in roots of barley genotypes of different origin: the Syrian breeding line Cam/B1/CI and the German cultivar Maresi. The involvement of Δ1 pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS), the expression of the P5CS gene and ABA in proline synthesis under drought were also studied. Finally, we examined the resistance of tested genotypes to applied drought using chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and above-ground dry matter accumulation. Drought caused a gradual decrease of water content and an increase of proline and ABA content in roots and leaves of both genotypes. A statistically significant positive correlation between proline accumulation and activity of P5CS was also revealed. The skyrocketing increase of P5CS activity and proline accumulation was proceeded by transcriptional up-regulation of P5CS. The relationships between changes in P5CS expression, P5CS activity and ABA content show that the latter compound is involved in drought-induced proline synthesis at the transcription and enzyme activity level. The examined barley genotypes were equally resistant to applied moderate drought stress regardless of the differences in the level of proline accumulated.