Genetic and metabolic determinations of biotic and abiotic stress responses in quinoa

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) holds immense promise in mitigating the challenges posed by climate change due to its high nutritional value and strong resistance to abiotic stressors like drought, salinity, frost, and heat. In this subproject of the Research Unit PlantsCoChallenge, we aim to investigate the interaction between biotic and abiotic stress factors in quinoa and to identify the genetic factors that play a role in this interaction. We will identify quinoa lines with different combinations of resistance/susceptibility to downy mildew infection and tolerance/susceptibility to drought stress. Based on detailed phenotyping, transcriptome analysis and genotyping we will identify genetic loci controlling drought tolerance and downy mildew resistance and correlate their haplotype variations with these traits. Moreover, we will quantify the abundance of antioxidant and osmoprotectant compounds during single and combined stress in different genetic backgrounds. We will specifically characterize the role of flavonoids during combined stress treatments with an emphasis on ROS homeostasis. Furthermore, we will investigate the impact of biotic stress on microbiome composition in quinoa leaves. Finally, we will identify common stress-response genes and stress markers between quinoa and the other species analyzed in the research unit.

Quinoa field © ​Sigi Zang