AUTHOR=Thebti Siwar , Bouallegue Amal , Rzigui Touhami , En-Nahli Youness , Horchani Faouzi , Hosni Taoufik , Kharrat Mohamed , Amri Moez , Abbes Zouhaier 

TITLE=Potential physiological tolerance mechanisms in faba bean to Orobanche spp. parasitism

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1497303

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2024.1497303

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Orobanche</italic> spp. are root parasitic plants that cause severe yield losses in faba bean (<italic>Vicia faba</italic> L.). The use of tolerant varieties remains a pivotal component of a successful integrated control strategy. In this study, we investigated the potential physiological mechanisms associated with tolerance to <italic>O. crenata</italic> and <italic>O. foetida</italic> in faba bean. The results showed that <italic>Orobanche</italic> parasitism significantly affected faba bean plants’ growth and seed production, especially in the sensitive Bachaar variety (up to 61.77% and 83.53% in shoot dry weight, up to 79.59% in pod number and no pod development when infected with <italic>O. foetida</italic> and <italic>O. crenata</italic>, respectively). This reduction was correlated with photosynthetic capacity (A<sub>max</sub>) decreases in response to both <italic>O. foetida</italic> and <italic>O. crenata</italic> parasitism. This decrease was highly pronounced in the sensitive Bachaar variety with 24.57% and 63.43% decreases, respectively. Significant decreases were also observed in the sensitive Bachaar cultivar for the photochemical efficiency of PSII (F<sub>v</sub>/F<sub>m</sub>) (1.1% and 4.78%), the maximum transpiration (E<sub>max</sub>) (11.8% and 39.13%), and the maximum water use efficiency (WUE<sub>max</sub>) (24.97% and 41.77%) in response to <italic>O. foetida</italic> and <italic>O. crenata</italic> parasitism, respectively, compared to non-significant differences for the tolerant Chams, Chourouk, and Zaher varieties. The tolerant faba bean varieties were able to maintain a normal function of their photosynthesis capacity (A<sub>n</sub>) and conserve their growth and seed production level as a result of an acclimation to parasitic attack (Maintaining WUE<sub>max</sub>). Our results suggest that yield components such as shoot dry weight, pod and leaf numbers, and photosynthetic parameters, notably the transpiration rate, can serve as suitable traits for assessing tolerance to <italic>Orobanche</italic> parasitism in faba bean plants.</p>