title: Overexpression of ShDHN, a dehydrin gene from Solanum habrochaites enhances tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses in tomato.
abstract: Dehydrins (DHNs) play important roles in plant adaptation to abiotic stress. In this study, a cold-induced SK3-type DHN gene (ShDHN) isolated from wild tomato species Solanum habrochaites was characterized for its function in abiotic stress tolerance. ShDHN was constitutively expressed in root, leaf, stem, flower and fruit. ShDHN was continuously up-regulated during cold stress and showed higher expression level in the cold-tolerant S. habrochaites than in the susceptible S. lycopersicum. Moreover, ShDHN expression was also regulated by drought, salt, osmotic stress, and exogenous signaling molecules. Overexpression of ShDHN in cultivated tomato increased tolerance to cold and drought stresses and improved seedling growth under salt and osmotic stresses. Compared with the wild-type, the transgenic plants accumulated more proline, maintained higher enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, and suffered less membrane damage under cold and drought stresses. Moreover, the transgenic plants accumulated lower levels of H2O2 and O2(-) under cold stress, and had higher relative water contents and lower water loss rates under dehydration conditions. Furthermore, overexpression of ShDHN in tomato led to the up- or down-regulated expression of several genes involved in ROS scavenging and JA signaling pathway, including SOD1, GST, POD, LOX, PR1 and PR2. Taken together, these results indicate that ShDHN has pleiotropic effects on improving plant adaptation to abiotic stresses and that it possesses potential usefulness in genetic improvement of stress tolerance in tomato.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Resources of Rubber Tree, Ministry of Agriculture, Rubber Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Danzhou 571737, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
authors.forename: Chuying
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
authors.forename: Hanxia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
authors.forename: Taotao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
authors.forename: Junhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1, Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China. Electronic address: zbye@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhibiao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ye
mesh_terms: D055864:Droughts; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D032322:Solanum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide
keywords: Abiotic stress; Cold tolerance; Dehydrin; Late embryogenesis abundant protein; Solanum; Tomato