Exploring the Genotype-Dependent Toolbox of Wheat under Drought Stress
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This is a very good peer reviewed scientific paper. Plant defense strategies against drought are listed and explained in detail. This article could be part of a monograph "Wheat under different Stress Factors". I expect that the publication of this work in the journal Agriculture will help researchers to see more clearly the genetic background and phenotypic response of wheat to drought, which will contribute to increasing the efficiency of wheat breeding in conditions of climate change. I thank the authors for their excellent work and suggest the editor of the journal to accept the work without changes.
Author Response
Reviewer: This is a very good peer reviewed scientific paper. Plant defense strategies against drought are listed and explained in detail. This article could be part of a monograph "Wheat under different Stress Factors". I expect that the publication of this work in the journal Agriculture will help researchers to see more clearly the genetic background and phenotypic response of wheat to drought, which will contribute to increasing the efficiency of wheat breeding in conditions of climate change. I thank the authors for their excellent work and suggest the editor of the journal to accept the work without changes.
Response: We sincerely thank you for your time, expertise and encouraging support. Your positive feedback and kind words regarding the content and potential impact of our work are very motivating and inspiring.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments to “Exploring the Genotype-Dependent Toolbox of Wheat under DroughtStress”.
I attach some comments/suggestions to improve the manuscript that I found of overall interest but should be improved for the listed references.
Along this line, I would also recommend quoting some of the excellent reviews/manuscripts by late Abraham Blum, one of the most knowledgeable experts on the physiology and breeding of wheat and other cereals grown under drought conditions. His first book, “Plant Breeding for Stress Environments” published in 1988 (reprinted in 2018) is viewed as the first comprehensive treatise on how plants can be selected to cope with drought stress through traits to avoid or tolerate dehydration.
For the readers it would also be useful to quote the PlantStress website https://plantstress.com/abraham-blum/
which presents a comprehensive section listing many manuscripts on drought tolerance.
Here are the detailed comments/suggestions at the listed lines:
53. “better comprehending traits” instead of “comprehending traits”.
88. The reference quoted is on Brassica and not wheat. I suggest quoting one from wheat.
90. The reference quoted is on Avena and not wheat. I suggest quoting one from wheat.
123. The quoted reference is on eggplant. I suggest quoting one from wheat.
129-135. The concept remains a bit too vague, particularly because it ignores phenology as a covariate.
162. I suggest avoiding quoting manuscripts on Arabidopsis, quoted as 44 in “…a more robust antioxidant system [42,44]”. Any example on wheat?
164-165. Relevant references could/should be added to the three quoted ones [27,45,46].
203. drought periods [58]. I suggest quoting Maccaferri et al.,(2016) that reported the same QTL.
Maccaferri, M., et al. (2016). Prioritizing quantitative trait loci for root system architecture in tetraploid wheat. Journal of experimental botany, 67(4), 1161-1178.
Figure 3. ”Coleoptile Length” instead of ”Coleoptile Lenght”.
278. “drought-resistant wheat genotype” I suggest adding 2-3 references, given the importance of this issue.
286. …leaf senescence [81, 82]. I suggest quoting Condorelli, G. E. et al. (2022). Genome wide association study uncovers the QTLome for osmotic adjustment and related drought adaptive traits in durum wheat. Genes, 13(2), 293.
290-297. This paragraph quotes manuscripts based on few genotypes. I suggest eliminating it.
306-311. I suggest eliminating this paragraph since it is based on only 3 genotypes, too small to be meaningful.
341. “old varieties” instead of “old variety.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.docx
Author Response
Reviewer: I attach some comments/suggestions to improve the manuscript that I found of overall interest but should be improved for the listed references.
Along this line, I would also recommend quoting some of the excellent reviews/manuscripts by late Abraham Blum, one of the most knowledgeable experts on the physiology and breeding of wheat and other cereals grown under drought conditions. His first book, “Plant Breeding for Stress Environments” published in 1988 (reprinted in 2018) is viewed as the first comprehensive treatise on how plants can be selected to cope with drought stress through traits to avoid or tolerate dehydration. For the readers it would also be useful to quote the PlantStress website https://plantstress.com/abraham-blum/ which presents a comprehensive section listing many manuscripts on drought tolerance.
Response: We greatly appreciate the contributions made by Abraham Blum to the topic and have referenced several of his publications, including the book (Ref. 25, 56, 58 and 119). In this manuscript, our goal was to summarize, analyze and synthesize part of the existing research on this topic, with the belief that our efforts will keep researchers well-informed and, to some extent, guide future research in this field. We did our best, and although we are aware that there are many reports that could have been cited, unfortunately, we could not cover all the studies related to genotype-dependent wheat responses. We sincerely apologize to all the researchers whose work has not been cited.
While website citations in scholarly writing may have their place, our preference has always been to rely on peer-reviewed papers. In this manuscript, we have diligently cited over 200 sources, encompassing a broad spectrum of academic literature on the topic.
Reviewer: 53. “better comprehending traits” instead of “comprehending traits”.
Response: We have rephrased the sentence to read: “In the coming decade, collaborative efforts among scientists, breeders and farmers will play a pivotal role in identifying and understanding traits associated with plant drought resistance, as well as in breeding crop cultivars that are resilient to drought [10]” (lines 51-54). The mentioned phrase does not exist anymore.
Reviewer: 88. The reference quoted is on Brassica and not wheat. I suggest quoting one from wheat.
Response: In Section 2, titled ‘Plant Defense Strategies against Drought’, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of plant defense mechanisms against drought, encompassing various plant species, not limited to wheat. Our intention was to draw comparisons among different plants before delving into the specific defense strategies of wheat. For that reason, we are citing reports not only on wheat but also on different plants species, including Avena, eggplant, rice and others.
Reviewer: 90. The reference quoted is on Avena and not wheat. I suggest quoting one from wheat.
Response: Please refer to our response to the preceding comment.
Reviewer: 123. The quoted reference is on eggplant. I suggest quoting one from wheat.
Response: Kindly review our response to the preceding comments.
Reviewer: 129-135. The concept remains a bit too vague, particularly because it ignores phenology as a covariate.
Response: In the first part of Section 2.2 'Drought Avoidance Strategy', we introduce the concept of drought avoidance and its mechanisms across various plant species. The Reviewer concern pertains to the latter part of the section, which illustrates how certain plant species, including some wheat cultivars, employ this strategy by developing specific attributes to conserve water under drought conditions. We also believe, it is important to note that this strategy offers advantages, such as water conservation, but it also has disadvantages, such as limited vegetative growth, which can reduce crop productivity.
Reviewer: 162. I suggest avoiding quoting manuscripts on Arabidopsis, quoted as 44 in “…a more robust antioxidant system [42,44]”. Any example on wheat?
Response: This paragraph has been rephrased, incorporating additional information and references related to the topic. Similar to the descriptions of other defense strategies, the initial segment of Section 2.3, titled 'Drought Tolerance Strategy' delves into the intricate nature of drought tolerance in various plants, including Arabidopsis (lines 174-212). The subsequent section briefly outlines the utilization of this strategy by wheat (lines 213-225), with more comprehensive details about wheat presented in the subsequent manuscript sections.
Reviewer: 164-165. Relevant references could/should be added to the three quoted ones [27,45,46].
Response: The initially cited references [now Ref. 34,57,59] effectively support the content, but we have expanded our sources to further enrich the context, incorporating additional references in the same sentence (Ref. 25,56,58; lines 215-216), and followed up on one of them in the subsequent sentence (Ref. 58, line 218). We believe this broadens the foundation of our arguments.
Reviewer: 203. drought periods [58]. I suggest quoting Maccaferri et al.,(2016) that reported the same QTL. Maccaferri, M., et al. (2016). Prioritizing quantitative trait loci for root system architecture in tetraploid wheat. Journal of experimental botany, 67(4), 1161-1178.
Response: The reference by Maccaferri and colleagues has been cited (Ref. 71).
Reviewer: Figure 3. ”Coleoptile Length” instead of ”Coleoptile Lenght”.
Answer: We could not find the phrase in Figure 3 but noticed this misspelling in Figure 2. Additionally, as a precaution, we thoroughly checked the entire text to ensure this typo does not exist anywhere.
Reviewer: 278. “drought-resistant wheat genotype” I suggest adding 2-3 references, given the importance of this issue.
Response: Although this paragraph only draws conclusions based on the information presented in the preceding paragraphs, in response to the reviewer's suggestion, we have included several references (Ref. 56, 81-83, 90; line 329).
Reviewer: 286. …leaf senescence [81, 82]. I suggest quoting Condorelli, G. E. et al. (2022). Genome wide association study uncovers the QTLome for osmotic adjustment and related drought adaptive traits in durum wheat. Genes, 13(2), 293.
Response: We have cited the paper by Condorelli et al. (Ref. 94; line 337).
Reviewer: 290-297. This paragraph quotes manuscripts based on few genotypes. I suggest eliminating it.
Response: Thank you for your suggestion. We genuinely appreciate your concern regarding the limited number of genotypes in the papers cited in the paragraph in question. However, we maintain the perspective that the value of certain research contributions may not necessarily depend on the number of genotypes involved but rather on the mechanisms investigated. Many of the cited publications offer valuable insights into the subject matter, despite being based on a relatively small number of genotypes.
Reviewer: 306-311. I suggest eliminating this paragraph since it is based on only 3 genotypes, too small to be meaningful.
Response: Please see our reply to the previous comment.
Reviewer: 341. “old varieties” instead of “old variety.
Response: ‘old variety’ replaced (line 393).
Reviewer 3 Report
I had the opportunity to read and review the manuscript entitled "Exploring the Genotype-Dependent Toolbox of Wheat under Drought Stress"
The manuscript represents an essential contribution to the knowledge and is worth publishing. The title is attractive and matches the content. The abstract is clear, reasonable, and easy to understand. Keywords: keywords correspond to the aims and objectives of the manuscript. However, there are some comments on the attached file: Kindly, find all comments and corrections in the attached file.
All The Best.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
# There are many mistakes in grammar and language. The language can be improved. Kindly, find all comments and corrections in the attached file.
Author Response
Responses to the Reviewer 3
Reviewer: # There are many mistakes in grammar and language. The language can be improved. Kindly, find all comments and corrections in the attached file.
Response: We appreciate your attention to detail and your efforts to help us improve the grammar and language in our manuscript. We have carefully reviewed your comments and corrections, and have diligently worked to address the identified issues. Thank you for your valuable contribution to improving the overall quality of our work.
Reviewer: L 18 : Delete " that is"
Response: The phrase deleted (L 18)
Reviewer: L 22 : Change "response of wheat to drought stress" to response of wheat plants to drought stress"
Response: The correction has been made (L 22).
Reviewer: L 23 : Delete " in plants"
Response: It has been deleted (L 23).
Reviewer: L 23 : Delete "of"
Response: It has been deleted (L 23).
Reviewer: L 24 Change : adult growth stages" to "late growth stages"
Response: It has been changed (L 24)
Reviewer: L 25: delete "key"
Response: It has been deleted (L 25)
Reviewer: It is not sufficient background about the investigated subject. The author should be write on the responses of wheat plants to the effect of drought stress and refer shortly to the main points of the review.
Response: We have addressed your concern regarding the background information, specifically related to the responses of wheat plants to drought stress in the revised version. We have now provided a more comprehensive background that addresses this aspect (L 55-91), and also includes a brief reference to the main points of the review (L 92-99).
Reviewer: L 80 and L 188: Change "favourable" to favorable
Response: It has been changed (L 97 and 111).
Reviewer: L 147: Change "that" to "which"
Response: The whole paragraph has been changed, so the word no longer exists (L 273-294).
Reviewer: L 154: Delete " that"
Response: Please refer to our response to the preceding comment.
Reviewer: L 197: Correct "different root depth" to " different root depths"
Response: "different root depth" corrected to “differing root depths” (L 247-248)
Reviewer: L 199: correct during grain filling stage to "during the grain filling stage"
Response: corrected (L 250)
Reviewer: L 200: correct related with : related to
Response: corrected (L 251)
Reviewer: L 303: Add "the" before "inherent ability of plants"
Response: The requested change has been made (L 354).
Reviewer: L321: Correct "which subsequently increase: to "which subsequently increases"
Response: The requested correction has been made, and "increases" is now the correct form (L 373).
Reviewer: L342 : different antioxidant capacity: different antioxidant capacities
Response: The requested change has been made, and it now reads as "different antioxidant capacities" (L 394).
Reviewer: L 384: numerous genotype numerous genotypes
Response: We have retained "numerous genotype-dependent DEGs" as "genotype" is used as an adjective in this context (L 436-437).
Reviewer: L 390: correct "identified genes exclusively" to "identified genes that exclusively"
Response: The requested correction has been made, and it now reads as "identified genes that exclusively” (L 442).
Reviewer: L 414: Change sensitive genotype to sensitive cultivar.
Response: The requested change has been made, and it now reads as "sensitive cultivar" (L 467).
Reviewer: L 422: wheat genes has : correct to "wheat genes have"
Response: The requested correction has been made (L 475).
Reviewer: L 459: delete the repeated word "that that".
Response: The repeated word has been deleted. We apologize for the typo (L 512).
Reviewer: L 479: correct "a key role for drought tolerance" to "a key role in drought tolerance"
Response: The requested correction has been made (L 532).
Reviewer: L 484: delete the repeated word "has has".
Response: The repeated word has been deleted (L 537).
Reviewer: L 486: correct Ahmed et al [157] has revealed to Ahmed et al [157] have revealed.
Response: The requested correction has been made (L 539).
Reviewer: L 515: Correct "Mounting evidence indicate" to " Mounting evidence indicates"
Response: The correction has been made (L 568).
Reviewer: L541: Correct "invloved" to involved.
Response: The correction has been made. We apologize for the typo (L 594).
Reviewer: L 647: Correct the data gathered can assists ----------- the data gathered can can assist.
Response: The entire Conclusion paragraph has been rephrased, and the mentioned phrase no longer exists (L 694-713).
Reviewer: Conclusion: It is not sufficient. It can be improved.
Response: The conclusion section has been expanded and improved. The revised version provides a more comprehensive and forward-looking perspective, emphasizing the need for further research, the potential of advanced biotechnological methods, and the importance of ongoing efforts to achieve sustainable agriculture and food security in a changing climate (L 694-713).
Reviewer: Figure 1 : Identify the abbreviation " WUE" in the caption below figure.
Response: The abbreviation has been introduced (L 153)
Reviewer: Figure 3: the authors repeat "MDA content and lipid peroxidation" in physiological and biochemical changes. I suggest deleting lipid peroxidation from physiological changes and replace it with the membranes integrity and add ions homeostasis.
Response: The suggestion has been applied in Figure 3.
Reviewer 4 Report
Understanding the response of different genotypes of wheat to drought stress has important guiding value for breeding drought-resistant wheat in water shortage areas, and is of great significance for further promoting food security. The article is rich in content and clear in logic. The following issues need further improvement:
1. The introduction can briefly introduce the yield of wheat, the production area, and the importance of food security to increase the richness of the background.
2. The article many professional terms or compound ranking, it is suggested to further explain, such as drought-induced responses, osmotic adjustment, etc., to increase readers' readability.
3. Many concepts mentioned in the paper, such as ROS, MDA, SOD, CAT, etc., need to be explained in more detail how they relate to drought stress and plant physiological and biochemical reactions.
4. Consider using more specific diagrams or diagrams to help readers better understand the complex genetic concepts mentioned in the article and the distribution of QTLS.
Author Response
Responses to the Reviewer 4
We sincerely appreciate your valuable feedback, and have revised the manuscript, accordingly.
Reviewer: The introduction can briefly introduce the yield of wheat, the production area, and the importance of food security to increase the richness of the background.
Response: We have enriched the introduction by incorporating additional data concerning wheat yield, production areas, and the critical significance of food security (lines 55-71).
Reviewer: The article contains many professional terms or compound ranking, it is suggested to further explain, such as drought-induced responses, osmotic adjustment, etc., to increase readers' readability.
Response: This suggestion has been taken into account, and we have made corresponding improvements to the manuscript. We have now included more detailed explanations and clarifications for the professional terms mentioned. For example, we have provided explanations for "drought-induced responses" (lines 177-179), "osmotic adjustment" (lines 183-184), "water use efficiency (WUE)" (lines 88-91), and others. We hope, these enhancements will make the manuscript more accessible and reader-friendly.
Reviewer: Many concepts mentioned in the paper, such as ROS, MDA, SOD, CAT, etc., need to be explained in more detail how they relate to drought stress and plant physiological and biochemical reactions.
Response: Taking into consideration this feedback, we have now included more detailed explanations and elaborations on ROS, MDA, SOD, CAT, and other related terms (lines 197-209).
Reviewer: Consider using more specific diagrams or diagrams to help readers better understand the complex genetic concepts mentioned in the article and the distribution of QTLS.
Response: Thank you for your suggestion. In response to your feedback, we have incorporated a diagram that visually represents the complex genetic concepts and illustrates the distribution of QTLs discussed in the manuscript. This addition should enhance the understanding of readers of these concepts.
