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Transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing the heterologous lea gene Rab16A from rice during high salt and water deficit display enhanced tolerance to salinity stress

  • Physiology and Biochemistry
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Abstract

The full length Rab16A, from the indica rice Pokkali, was introduced into tobacco by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The transgene was stably integrated into the genome and they originated from different lines of integration. Expression of Rab16A transcript driven by its own promoter (stress inducible) in T2 progenies, only when triggered by salinity/ABA/PEG (Polyethylene glycol)-mediated dehydration, but not at the constitutive level, led to the stress-induced accumulation of RAB16A protein in the leaves of transgenic plants. The selected independent transgenic lines showed normal growth, morphology and seed production as the WT plants without any yield penalty under stress conditions. They exhibited significantly increased tolerance to salinity, sustained growth rates under stress conditions; with concomitant increased osmolyte production like reducing sugars, proline and higher polyamines. They also showed delayed development of damage symptoms with better antioxidative machinery and more favorable mineral balance, as reflected by reduced H2O2 levels and lipid peroxidation, lesser chlorophyll loss as well as lesser accumulation of Na+ and greater accumulation of K+ in 200 mM NaCl. These findings establish the potential role of Rab16A gene in conferring salt tolerance without affecting growth and yield, as well as pointing to the fact that the upstream region of Rab16A behaves as an efficient stress-inducible promoter. Our result also suggests the considerable potential of Group 2 lea genes as molecular tools for genetic engineering of plants towards stress tolerance.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

EMSA:

Electrophoretic mobility shift assay

LEA:

Late embryogenesis abundant

LOX:

Lipoxygenase

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

ORF:

Open reading frame

PEG:

Polyethylene glycol

Rab:

Responsive to abscisic acid

RWC:

Relative water content

WT:

Wild type

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, New Delhi (Grant No.BT/PR2965/AGR/02/155/04/2002). ARC acknowledges DBT for providing the award of Senior Research Fellowship upto March, 2006. ARC is also very much thankful to Prof. Timothy J. Close, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, for providing the anti-dehydrin antiserum as a kind gift. The authors thank Ms. Chaitali Roy for helping with the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the excellent technical assistance of Mr. Jadab Ghosh, who has meticulously designed all the figures and photographs included in this paper.

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  1. Aryadeep RoyChoudhury

    Present address: Department of Botany, University of Calcutta, 35, Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata, 700019, West Bengal, India

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  1. Department of Botany, Bose Institute, 93/1, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road, Kolkata, 700009, West Bengal, India

    Aryadeep RoyChoudhury, Chaitali Roy & Dibyendu N. Sengupta

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  1. Aryadeep RoyChoudhury
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Correspondence to Dibyendu N. Sengupta.

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Communicated by W.T. Kim.

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RoyChoudhury, A., Roy, C. & Sengupta, D.N. Transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing the heterologous lea gene Rab16A from rice during high salt and water deficit display enhanced tolerance to salinity stress. Plant Cell Rep 26, 1839–1859 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-007-0371-2

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