Impact of Water Deficit on Growth, Biochemical, and Physiological Traits in Eggplant MAGIC Lines
- 1Universitat Politecnica de Valencia
Abstract
Climate change exacerbates agricultural water scarcity, necessitating the development of drought-tolerant crop varieties. This study evaluates 12 eggplant lines from a MAGIC (Multi-parent Advanced Generation Intercross) population, previously selected for contrasting responses to water deficit during the vegetative stage. To validate tolerance under adult production conditions, plants underwent five irrigation-withholding cycles over a 170-day greenhouse growing period. Yield components, the Stress Tolerance Index (STI), and physiological parameters (water status and stomatal conductance) were evaluated. Additionally, photosynthetic pigments, oxidative stress markers, antioxidant compounds, and osmolytes were quantified to characterize the biochemical basis of tolerance alongside final biomass production. The results showed that four of the five lines that were previously classified as tolerant in the vegetative stage remained among the most tolerant at the reproductive stage. Specifically, lines L13, L78 and L179 were the most productive under water-limited conditions. While L13 and L179 exhibited stable tolerance throughout all developmental stages, L78 displayed stage-specific tolerance, manifested only during the reproductive growth phase. These findings emphasise the importance of integrating early-stage screening with adult-stage validation in order to capture the full spectrum of genetic drought tolerance. The most productive lines were characterised by moderate aboveground biomass, high leaf hydration and maintained stomatal conductance. However, the strategies employed differed: while L179 exhibited high photosynthetic pigment content, L13 was characterised by high total sugar accumulation. Overall, these results provide a multi-trait roadmap and identify elite MAGIC parental lines for breeding climate-resilient eggplant cultivars.
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BibTeX
@misc{floressaavedra2026impact,
title = {{Impact of Water Deficit on Growth, Biochemical, and Physiological Traits in Eggplant MAGIC Lines}},
author = {M. Flores-Saavedra and M. Plazas and N. Pacual-Seva and S. Vilanova and O. Vicente and P. Gramazio and J. Prohens},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.01.748492},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.01.748492v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Impact of Water Deficit on Growth, Biochemical, and Physiological Traits in Eggplant MAGIC Lines
AU - M. Flores-Saavedra
AU - M. Plazas
AU - N. Pacual-Seva
AU - S. Vilanova
AU - O. Vicente
AU - P. Gramazio
AU - J. Prohens
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.01.748492
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.01.748492v1
AB - Climate change exacerbates agricultural water scarcity, necessitating the development of drought-tolerant crop varieties. This study evaluates 12 eggplant lines from a MAGIC (Multi-parent Advanced Generation Intercross) population, previously selected for contrasting responses to water deficit during the vegetative stage. To validate tolerance under adult production conditions, plants underwent five irrigation-withholding cycles over a 170-day greenhouse growing period. Yield components, the Stress Tolerance Index (STI), and physiological parameters (water status and stomatal conductance) were evaluated. Additionally, photosynthetic pigments, oxidative stress markers, antioxidant compounds, and osmolytes were quantified to characterize the biochemical basis of tolerance alongside final biomass production. The results showed that four of the five lines that were previously classified as tolerant in the vegetative stage remained among the most tolerant at the reproductive stage. Specifically, lines L13, L78 and L179 were the most productive under water-limited conditions. While L13 and L179 exhibited stable tolerance throughout all developmental stages, L78 displayed stage-specific tolerance, manifested only during the reproductive growth phase. These findings emphasise the importance of integrating early-stage screening with adult-stage validation in order to capture the full spectrum of genetic drought tolerance. The most productive lines were characterised by moderate aboveground biomass, high leaf hydration and maintained stomatal conductance. However, the strategies employed differed: while L179 exhibited high photosynthetic pigment content, L13 was characterised by high total sugar accumulation. Overall, these results provide a multi-trait roadmap and identify elite MAGIC parental lines for breeding climate-resilient eggplant cultivars.
ER -