Browsing by Author "Aloui, Meriem"

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    Genetic variation in responses to salt stress in Tunisian populations of Medicago ciliaris
    (MDPI, 2022) Aloui, Meriem; Mahjoub, Asma; Ludidi, Ndiko
    Soil salinity is one of the most serious environmental factors affecting crop productivity around the world. We used a morpho-physiological approach to investigate the salt responses of four Tunisian natural populations of Medicago ciliaris. Forty-six lines of M. ciliaris were grown under a control treatment and 100 mM NaCl. We measured 11 quantitative traits of shoot and root growth during harvest. An analysis of variance showed that the variations in salt response can be explained by the effects of the population, line, treatment, and interactions between the population and treatment and the line and treatment. Most of the measured traits showed significant differences between the studied populations under the control treatment and salt stress.
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    Identification of salt-tolerant Tunisian Medicago ciliaris lines during germination and early seedling stages under NaCl stress
    (Springer Nature, 2025) Aloui, Meriem; Ludidi, Ndiko; Hdira, Sabrine
    Germination is a critical determinant of grain yield in Medicago ciliaris, and salinity poses a major stress factor in Tunisian soils. This study aims to evaluate the variability in salt tolerance among four Tunisian populations of M. ciliaris, Enfidha (TNC1), Soliman (TNC8), Rhayet (TNC10), and Mateur (TNC11) during germination under NaCl concentrations of 0, 125, and 175 mM. ANOVA revealed significant differences among populations, lines, treatments, and their interactions for all germination traits. Salt stress led to a marked reduction in germination parameters, with the highest tolerance observed in lines from the Soliman population. Broad-sense heritability (H2) was high, with values ranging from 0.66 to 0.94, reflecting substantial genetic stability across all germination traits under varying salinity levels. Hierarchical clustering categorized the 46 lines into three groups, highlighting the genetic diversity and phenotypic variability in response to salt stress. Four lines demonstrated notable salt tolerance at both 125 and 175 mM NaCl, particularly line TNC8.1, which showed consistent performance across germination and growth stages. These results underscore the potential of the Soliman population (TNC8) as a valuable genetic resource for breeding salt-tolerant M. ciliaris varieties, offering a promising pathway for enhancing crop performance under saline conditions in Tunisia