agronomy Article Effect of Salinity Stress on Phenylpropanoid Genes Expression and Related Gene Expression in Wheat Sprout 1, 2, 1 1 Do Manh Cuong y, Soon-Jae Kwon y , Bao Van Nguyen , Se Won Chun , Jae Kwang Kim 3,* and Sang Un Park 1,* 1 Department of Crop Science, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Korea;
[email protected] (D.M.C.);
[email protected] (B.V.N.);
[email protected] (S.W.C.) 2 Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, 29 Geumgu-gil, Jeongeup-si 56212, Korea;
[email protected] 3 Division of Life Sciences and Bio-Resource and Environmental Center, Incheon National University, Incheon 22012, Korea * Correspondence:
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[email protected] (S.U.P.); Tel.: +82-32-835-8241 (J.K.K.); +82-42-821-5730 (S.U.P.); Fax: +82-32-835-0763 (J.K.K.); +82-42-822-2631 (S.U.P.) Do Manh Cuong and Soon-Jae Kwon contributed equally to this work. y Received: 4 February 2020; Accepted: 10 March 2020; Published: 13 March 2020 Abstract: The effect of salinity (NaCl treatment) on the nutritive value of wheat sprouts was investigated by analyzing the expression of phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway genes and the levels of phenylpropanoid compounds. Treatment with various concentrations of NaCl (50, 100, and 200 mM) resulted in increased epicatechin levels but decreased accumulation of catechin hydrate, benzoic acid, and quercetin compounds in the sprouts compared with the control (0 mM). The trans-cinnamic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, ferulic acid, epicatechin, and total phenylpropanoid level in wheat sprout was the highest at 50 mM of NaCl treatment.