This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/bab.1923. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Gene expression studies of Saccharum spontaneum, a wild relative of sugarcane in response to salinity stress Lakshmi Kasirajan 1 *, Rabisha Valiyaparambth 1 , Janani Velu 1 , Haritha Hari 1 , Vasantha Srinivasavedantham 2 and Selvi Athaiappan 1 1 Genomics laboratory, Division of crop improvement, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, 641 007, India. 2 Plant physiology, Division of crop production , ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, 641 007, India. *Corresponding author: Dr. K. Lakshmi Senior scientist (Plant Biotechnology) ICAR Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Pin: 641 007 Tel: 91 422-247261, Mobile 8148095502 Fax: 91 422-2472923 E. mail: lakshmimbb@mail.com, K.Lakshmi@icar.gov.in Short running title Molecular profiling of S. spontaneum for salinity Abstract The study is aimed to assess the morphological, physiological and molecular responses of seven Saccharum spontaneum clones, for salinity stress. These clones (IND-07-1462, IND-07-1465, IND-07-1470, IND-07-1471, IND 16-1761, IND 16-1762, and IND 16-1763) were subjected to salinity stress at two different concentrations of electrical conductivity 6ds/m and 8ds/m after 60 days of planting. All seven genotypes showed a decrease in relative water content and nitrate reductase activity with increase in severity of salt stress. The effect was more pronounced in IND-07-1471, while IND-16-1762 exhibited only a minimum drop. Similarly we observed an increase in proline content and lipid peroxidation activity for the genotype IND-07-1471, while IND-16-1762 showed minimum increase. Molecular profiling of genes/transcription factors like Salt Overly