Molecular studies of abiotic stress and abscisic acid mediated stress response pathway in barley

The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is crucial for plant's adaptive response to salinity and drought stresses. ABA accumulates in plant cells to protect vegetative tissues and regulates developmental events. ABA signalling pathway is well established in Arabidopsis, but is poorly defined in the major cereal crops, wheat and barley. The present study identified and characterised barley ABA mediated abiotic stress signalling related genes. This work also assessed the salt tolerance levels of sixteen barley varieties by key physiological assays. The work provides insights into genome-wide effects of salinity and drought stresses and is a new resource for the study of gene regulation in barley.