Overexpression of sugarcane gene SoSnRK2.1 confers drought tolerance in transgenic tobacco.
Overexpression of SoSnRK2.1 improved drought tolerance and growth of tobacco plants. Sucrose non-fermenting1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) is a key enzyme in regulating ABA signal transduction in plants, and it plays a significant role in response to multiple abiotic stresses. In this research, SoSnRK2.1 gene was cloned from sugarcane variety GT21 and characterized under various stresses. The cloned SoSnRK2.1 gene has a complete open reading frame of 1002 bp, encoding a peptide of 333 amino acids. The amino acid sequence of SoSnRK2.1 has high homology with those of Zea mays and Oryza sativa, which belongs to SnRK2 s families. The expression of SoSnRK2.1 under stresses of drought, PEG, and ABA indicated that this gene is involved in stress responses in sugarcane. To investigate the gene function, fusional SoSnRK2.1-GFP-pBI121 under control of CaMV 35S was transformed into tobacco plants. Growth and morphology of transgenic plants demonstrated that overexpression of SoSnRK2.1 enhanced drought tolerance in tobacco. Transgenic tobacco plants had lower levels of ion leakage (IL), and contents of maleic dialdehyde (MDA) and H2O2, with higher activities of three antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), and chlorophyll and relative water content (RWC) than those in wide type (WT) tobacco. SoSnRK2.1 was stably transmitted to the next generation via sexual reproduction. Though the data presented here are from a heterologous system, it is highly likely that SoSnRK2.1 is involved in the abiotic stress response in sugarcane and may be playing an important role in regulation of its growth.
Agricultural College, State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
Thi-Thu
TT
Phan
Agricultural College, State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
Bo
B
Sun
Agricultural College, State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
Jun-Qi
JQ
Niu
Agricultural College, State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
Qin-Liang
QL
Tan
Agricultural College, State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
Jian
J
Li
Agricultural College, State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China. liyr@gxu.edu.cn.|Guangxi Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Genetic Improvement, Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biotechnology and Genetic Improvement (Guangxi), Ministry of Agriculture, Sugarcane Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, 530007, China. liyr@gxu.edu.cn.
Li-Tao
LT
Yang
Agricultural College, State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China. liyr@gxaas.net.|Guangxi Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Genetic Improvement, Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biotechnology and Genetic Improvement (Guangxi), Ministry of Agriculture, Sugarcane Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, 530007, China. liyr@gxaas.net.
Yang-Rui
YR
Li
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D019295:Computational Biology; D055864:Droughts; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D007477:Ions; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000235:genetics; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D031786:Saccharum / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
D007477:Ions; D010940:Plant Proteins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D014867:Water; D002734:Chlorophyll; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D002374:Catalase; D009195:Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase
Drought stress; Overexpression; Response tolerance; SnRK2; Sugarcane; Tobacco