Expression Pattern of NHX1 and BADH2 Genes of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Wild.) under Drought Stress and Nutrient Uptake

Quinoa is one of the plants due to its high nutritional value its cultivated area is expanding rapidly in the world. These findings on the stress tolerance of quinoa, focusing on key genes explain drought signal transduction pathways. This perception can raise the comprehension of drought tolerance in quinoa. Betaine Aldehyde Dehydrogenase (BADH) and Na+/H+ antiporter (NHX1) were evaluated in response to drought and fertilizer stresses in quinoa. The expression of NHX gene was highly upregulated compared with BADH gene under drought stress. The results provide a new insight into the function of NHX and BADH in plant mineral nutrition. Under fertilizer-treated conditions NHX gene was highly upregulated compared with BADH gene. Also NPK fertilizer induces a higher tolerance ability in quinoa. The evaluation of network topology showed that NHX1 gene had the maximum number of intergenic connections with SOS1, SOS3, and AVP1 genes in the network. The AVP1 gene forms complex in cooperation with SOS mutants and plants will be able to withstand higher salt stress as well as water deficit in response. Our finding reinforces the idea that the favorable NHX allele must be ongoingly selected for quinoa growth under unpredictable future climate worsening.