Ling Jin

Northwest A&F University, Xianyang, 712100, Shaanxi, China
Author    Correspondence author
Genomics and Applied Biology, 2026, Vol. 17, No. 5   doi: 10.5376/gab.2026.17.0022
Received: 29 Jul., 2026    Accepted: 31 Aug., 2026    Published: 15 Sep., 2026

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Jin L., 2026, Physiological responses of photosynthetic characteristics and antioxidant systems in wheat leaves under drought stress, Genomics and Applied Biology, 17(5): 284-298 (doi: 10.5376/gab.2026.17.0022)

Drought stress is one of the major environmental constraints limiting wheat growth, productivity, and yield stability, particularly under increasing climate variability. This review summarizes the physiological responses of wheat leaves to drought stress, with emphasis on photosynthetic characteristics and antioxidant defense mechanisms. Drought-induced reductions in leaf water status and stomatal conductance restrict CO₂ diffusion and progressively impair photosynthetic carbon assimilation. Meanwhile, disturbances in photosynthetic electron transport enhance the production and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), resulting in oxidative damage to cellular membranes and photosynthetic structures. Wheat responds to oxidative stress by activating enzymatic antioxidant defenses, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, and glutathione reductase, together with non-enzymatic antioxidants involved in the ascorbate-glutathione cycle. The coordinated regulation of stomatal behavior, chlorophyll fluorescence, photoprotection, ROS scavenging, hormonal signaling, and redox homeostasis contributes to drought adaptation. Case studies further demonstrate differences among drought intensity, duration, and rewatering conditions in determining photosynthetic recovery and antioxidant capacity. Finally, strategies involving irrigation management, nutritional regulation, exogenous substances, drought-tolerant cultivar selection, and precision agriculture are discussed. Integrating physiological, biochemical, and molecular approaches will improve the understanding and practical management of wheat drought tolerance.

Wheat; Drought stress; Photosynthesis; Antioxidant system; Reactive oxygen species