Under the urgent threat of climate change, the agricultural stability of the Mediterranean basin faces increasing challenges due to a combination of rising temperatures and reduced rainfall. These environmental changes cause abiotic stresses, including drought, salinity, heat, and nutrient deficiencies, which seriously affect the sustainability and yield of many crops, such as durum wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum).

In this context, durum landraces represent a valuable resource to explore and leverage for their effective application in crop breeding. Within the project PSR Puglia 2014-2020; Op. 10.2.1 “Biodiversità dei cereali antichi pugliesi per la sostenibilità e la qualità - SAVEGRAIN-CER”, we aim at a molecular characterization of durum landraces subjected to abiotic stresses. By employing RNA sequencing, this research seeks to investigate the global transcriptional responses of different plant organs (including flag leaf and developing grain) of durum landraces, to highly impacting abiotic stresses.

This study aims at identifying both shared and unique stress response mechanisms, enhancing our understanding of the biological processes involved in the stress tolerance. Such insights will be critical for developing effective strategies to improve crop resilience and maintain agricultural productivity in changing climatic conditions.