title: Durum wheat dehydrin (DHN-5) confers salinity tolerance to transgenic Arabidopsis plants through the regulation of proline metabolism and ROS scavenging system.
abstract: The wheat dehydrin (DHN-5) gives birth to salinity tolerance to transgenic Arabidopsis plants by the regulation of proline metabolism and the ROS scavenging system. Dehydrins (DHNs) are involved in plant abiotic stress tolerance. In this study, we reported that salt tolerance of transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing durum wheat dehydrin (DHN-5) was closely related to the activation of the proline metabolism enzyme (P5CS) and some antioxidant biocatalysts. Indeed, DHN-5 improved P5CS activity in the transgenic plants generating a significant proline accumulation. Moreover, salt tolerance of Arabidopsis transgenic plants was accompanied by an excellent activation of antioxidant enzymes like catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxide dismutase (POD) and generation of a lower level of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in leaves compared to the wild-type plants. The enzyme activities were enhanced in these transgenic plants in the presence of exogenous proline. Nevertheless, proline accumulation was slightly reduced in transgenic plants promoting chlorophyll levels. All these results suggest the crucial role of DHN-5 in response to salt stress through the activation of enzymes implicated in proline metabolism and in ROS scavenging enzymes.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax-University of Sfax, B.P 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia. saibiwalid@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Walid
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Saibi
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax-University of Sfax, B.P 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Kaouthar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Feki
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax-University of Sfax, B.P 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Rihem
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ben Mahmoud
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax-University of Sfax, B.P 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Faiçal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brini
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011392:Proline / Q000378:metabolism*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D055049:Salt Tolerance / Q000235:genetics*; D012492:Salts / Q000494:pharmacology; D014908:Triticum / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D012492:Salts; D011392:Proline
keywords: Chlorophyll; P5CS activity; Proline; Salinity tolerance; Transgenic Arabidopsis plants; Wheat dehydrin (DHN-5), antioxidant enzymes