title: In planta characterization of a tau class glutathione S-transferase gene from Juglans regia (JrGSTTau1) involved in chilling tolerance.
abstract: JrGSTTau1 is an important candidate gene for plant chilling tolerance regulation. A tau subfamily glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene from Juglans regia (JrGSTTau1, GeneBank No.: KT351091) was cloned and functionally characterized. JrGSTTau1 was induced by 16, 12, 10, 8, and 6 °C stresses. The transiently transformed J. regia showed much greater GST, glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) activities and lower H2O2, malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and electrolyte leakage (EL) rate than prokII (empty vector control) and RNAi::JrGSTTau1 under cold stress, indicating that JrGSTTau1 may be involved in chilling tolerance. To further confirm the role of JrGSTTau1, JrGSTTau1 was heterologously expressed in tobacco, transgenic Line5, Line9, and Line12 were chosen for analysis. The germinations of WT, Line5, Line9, and Line12 were similar, but the fresh weight, primary root length, and total chlorophyll content (tcc) of the transgenic lines were significantly higher than those of WT under cold stress. When cultivated in soil, the GST and SOD activities of transgenic tobacco were significantly higher than those of WT; however, the MDA and H2O2 contents of WT were on average 1.47- and 1.96-fold higher than those of Line5, Line9, and Line12 under 16 °C. The DAB, Evans blue, and PI staining further confirmed these results. Furthermore, the abundances of NtGST, MnSOD, NtMAPK9, and CDPK15 were elevated in 35S::JrGSTTau1 tobacco compared with WT. These results suggested that JrGSTTau1 improves the plant chilling tolerance involved in protecting enzymes, ROS scavenging, and stress-related genes, indicating that JrGSTTau1 is a candidate gene for the potential application in molecular breeding to enhance plant abiotic stress tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Walnut Research Center, College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guiyan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Technology, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, 498 Shaoshan South Road, Changsha, 410004, Hunan Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhenggang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Walnut Research Center, College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shaobing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Walnut Research Center, College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yudong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Walnut Research Center, College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Caixia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Walnut Research Center, College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China. plum-zhai@163.com.
authors.forename: Meizhi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhai
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D003080:Cold Temperature; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D031324:Juglans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D002734:Chlorophyll; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D009195:Peroxidase; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D005982:Glutathione Transferase
keywords: Chilling tolerance; Glutathione transferase; Juglans regia; ROS scavenger; Tobacco