Overexpression of a GST gene (ThGSTZ1) from Tamarix hispida Improves Drought and Salinity Tolerance

• 作 者: Guiyan Yang Yucheng Wang Dean Xia Caiqiu Gao Chao Wang Chuanping Yang
• 机 构: State Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (Northeast Forestry University),26 Hexing
• 出 处: 中国林学会林木遗传育种分会第七届全国林木遗传育种学术大会
• 发表日期: 2013年5期
• 关键词: Abiotic stress Tamarix hispida GST gene reactive oxygen species

　　While plant glutathione S-transferases (GST) genes are reported to be involved in responses to abiotic stress, few GST genes have been functionally characterized in woody halophytes.In the present study, a GST gene from Tamarix hispida, designated ThGSTZ1, was cloned and functionally characterized.Expression of ThGSTZ1 was induced by drought and salinity stress, as well as by treatment with abscisic acid.Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants with constitutive expression of ThGSTZ1 had increased survival rates under drought and salinity stress.These transgenic Arabidopsis plants exhibited increased levels of GST, glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activity, along with decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) content, electrolyte leakage (EL) rates and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels under salt and drought stress.Transgenic T.hispida with transient overexpression of ThGSTZ1 showed increased GST and GPX activities, as well as improved ROS scavenging ability, under NaC1 and mannitol treatments.These results suggest that ThGSTZ1 can improve drought and salinity tolerance in plants by enhancing their ROS scavenging ability.Therefore, ThGSTZ1 represents a candidate gene with potential application for molecular breeding for increased stress tolerance in plants.