Abstract
Development of transgenic plants with tolerance to environmental stress is an important goal of plant biotechnology. Late-embryogenesis-abundant (LEA) proteins accumulate in seeds during late embryogenesis, where they protect cellular membranes and macromolecules against drought. In this work, we transferred the Tamarix androssowii LEA gene into hybrids of Populus davidiana×P. bolleana. We compared relative rates of height growth, chlorophyll fluorescence kinetic parameters, and leaf Na+ levels of six TaLEA-containing lines with non-transferred plants (NT), all grown under 0.8% NaCl stress condition. Survival percentages of transgenic lines were all higher than for NT controls after rehydration and the survival percentage of SL2 was five-fold higher than for NT controls. Seedling height increased 48.7% in SL2 (from the onset of induced stress to the end of the growing season), 31% more than for the NT controls. Chlorophyll fluorescence kinetic parameters showed a marked increase in photosynthetic capacity in SL2 and SL5. Na+ levels in young leaves of transgenic lines were lower than in control NT leaves, but higher in yellow and withered leaves, indicating improved salt tolerance in transgenic lines.
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Abbreviations
- SOD:
-
Superoxide Dismutase
- POD:
-
Peroxidase
- MS:
-
Murashige and Skoog
- 6-BA:
-
6-Benzylaminopurine
- NAA:
-
Naphthyl acetic acid
- IBA:
-
3-Indolebutyric acid
- CTAB:
-
Cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide
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Project founding: This work was supported by the National High-Tech Research and Development Program of China, 863 Program (Molecular Breeding and New Species Creating of Poplar) (Grant No. 2011AA100201).
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Sun, Y., Chen, S., Huang, H. et al. Improved salt tolerance of Populus davidiana × P. bolleana overexpressed LEA from Tamarix androssowii . Journal of Forestry Research 25, 813–818 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-014-0529-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-014-0529-z