Aydın, Murat2021-12-012021-12-012020http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12575/76601Salinity stress is considered one of the most important agricultural problems because it causes yield loss. Although it is well known that salinity damages to DNA and results in DNA methylation changes in plants, there is no report investigating the effect of mammalian hormones in plants growing under salinity stress. Therefore, the present study wasa imed at investigating DNA damage levels, DNA stability and DNA methylation changes in Triticum aestivum subjected to salinity stress and determine whether β-estradiol has any effect on these changes. RAPD (Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA) and CRED-RA (Coupled Restriction Enzyme Digestion-Random Amplification) were used to define the DNA damage levels and changes in the pattern of DNA methylation. The results showed that salinity stress led to an increase in RAPDs profile changes (DNA damage), a reduction in genomic template stability (GTS) and DNA hypermethylation. The effects caused by salinity stress were decreased after treatment with different concentrations of β-estradiol. The results of this study clearly show that β-estradiol could be used effectively to protect wheat seedlings from the destructive effects of salinity stress, and demethylation positively contributed to salinity stress tolerance.enβ-estradiolDNA damageDNA methylationArticle2901