Overexpression of <i>AtruLEA1</i> from <i>Acer truncatum</i> Bunge Enhanced <i>Arabidopsis</i> Drought and Salt Tolerance by Improving ROS-Scavenging Capability
<i>Late embryonic developmental abundant</i> (<i>LEA</i>) genes play a crucial role in the response to abiotic stress and are important target genes for research on plant stress tolerance mechanisms. <i>Acer truncatum</i> Bunge is a promising candidate tree specie...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Plants |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/1/117 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | <i>Late embryonic developmental abundant</i> (<i>LEA</i>) genes play a crucial role in the response to abiotic stress and are important target genes for research on plant stress tolerance mechanisms. <i>Acer truncatum</i> Bunge is a promising candidate tree species for investigating the tolerance mechanism of woody plants against abiotic stress. In our previous study, <i>AtruLEA1</i> was identified as being associated with seed drought tolerance. In this study, <i>LEA1</i> was cloned from <i>A. truncatum</i> Bunge and functionally characterized. <i>AtruLEA1</i> encodes an LEA protein and is located in the nucleus. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed a recent affinity of the AtruLEA1 protein to AT3G15760.1. Overexpression of <i>AtruLEA1</i> resulted in enhanced tolerance of <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> to drought and salt stress and heightened the ABA sensitivity. Compared to wild-type (WT) plants, plants with overexpressed <i>AtruLEA1</i> exhibited increased activities of antioxidant enzymes under drought stress. Meanwhile, the ROS level of transgenic <i>Arabidopsis</i> was significantly less than that of the WT. Additionally, the stoma density and stoma openness of <i>AtruLEA1 Arabidopsis</i> were higher compared to those in the WT <i>Arabidopsis</i> under salt and drought stress conditions, which ensures that the biomass and relative water content of transgenic <i>Arabidopsis</i> are significantly better than those of the WT. These results indicated that <i>AtruLEA1</i> was involved in salt and drought stress tolerances by maintaining ROS homeostasis, and its expression was positively regulated by abiotic stress. These results indicate a positive role of AtruLEA1 in drought and salt stress and provide theoretical evidence in the direction of cultivating resistant plants. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2223-7747 |