Effect of Allelic Variants of Aromatic Alcohol Dehydrogenase CAD^im on Micromorphological and Chemical Tissue Indices in the Spring Bread Wheat Triticum aestivum L.

The inheritance of allelic variants of aromatic alcohol dehydrogenase CAD^im (CAD intermediate) and their effect on the severity of plant traits in spring bread wheat (fluorescence of seedling slices, micromorphology, and chemical composition of tissues) were studied. The plants with contrast CAD^im genotypes (homozygotes +/+ and –/–) were used to study the tissue autofluorescence, micromorphology, and chemical composition. The thickness of the straw walls in the CAD^im– genotype is higher than that in the CAD^im+ genotype, which can affect the resistance of wheat plants to lodging. Differences in the chlorophyll content, particularly, in the ratio of chlorophylls A and B, were observed; this probably affects photosynthesis. An increased content of carbonyl groups in the CAD^im+ genotype, as well as differences in the cinnamon monomers of lignin, were found. It follows from these results that CAD^im+ and CAD^im– allelic variants have a significant effect on a number of plant traits and, consequently, that the polymorphism at the CAD^im locus is functional, which enables its use in breeding and biotechnology.