T. O. Yastreb^1,2, A. I. Kokorev², B. E. Makaova³, N. I. Ryabchun²,
T. V. Sakhno³, A. P. Dmitriev⁴, Yu. E. Kolupaev^2,3*

¹Crop Research Institute, Prague, Czech Republic;
²Yuriev Plant Production Institute, National Academy
of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Kharkiv;
³Poltava State Agrarian University, Poltava, Ukraine;
⁴Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, National Academy
of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine;
*e-mail: plant_biology@ukr.net

Received: 08 September 2023; Revised: 03 November 2023;
Accepted: 01 December 2023; Available on-line: 18 December 2023

Oxidative stress is an important component of heat- and drought-induced damage in plants. However­, information on the relationship between the resistance of cultivated plants with different genotypes to environmental factors and their ability to maintain a pro-/antioxidant balance remains contradictory. This study aimed to compare the growth responses and adaptation ability of the antioxidant system in different wheat cultivars to oxidative stress agents hydrogen peroxide and iron(II) sulfate. Etiolated seedlings of common winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Antonivka and Tobak (heat- and drought-tolerant), and Avgustina and Doskonala (not resistant to heat and drought) were used for the study. Three-day-old etiolated seedlings were exposed to 50 mM H₂O₂ or 5 mM FeSO4 for one day. It was found that seedlings of Antonivka and Tobak cultivars treated with H₂O₂ or FeSO₄ were able to maintain relatively intensive growth, accumulated significantly lower amounts of endogenous hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidation products, significantly increased anthocyanin content and had a higher activity of SOD and catalase as compared with non-resistant cultivars. The non-tolerant cultivars’ response to stress agents was only to increase proline content with a simultaneous decrease in SOD activity and anthocyanins content. The identified varietal markers of the antioxidant system adaptive strategy can be used to develop new approaches for screening wheat cultivars with cross-resistance to major abiotic stressors.