Analysis of changes in morphological characters and drought resistance of tetraploid P. alba

Abstract Artificial induction of polyploids is an effective technique for plant breeding and genetic improvement. Understanding the changes in plant morphology after polyploidization is the key to studying the underlying physiological mechanisms of polyploid plant development. We obtained a tetraploid P. alba using colchicine induction and performed a characterization analysis on it. The results showed that the height and leaf area of the tetraploid plant were smaller than those of the diploid plant. The tetraploid plant have thicker leaves, higher chlorophyll contents, and larger but less dense stomata. Tetraploidization also resulted in significant changes in stem anatomy, including smaller xylem width and larger phloem width. In addition, we found that the tetraploid plants exhibited enhanced drought tolerance compared with the diploid parent. The results of our study not only revealed the structural and physiological changes in the tetraploid plants, but also provided valuable insights into the breeding of polyploid P. alba.