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Improvement of cold tolerance of the half-high bush Northland blueberry by transformation with the LEA gene from Tamarix androssowii

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Abstract

Previous studies have shown that the late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) gene of Tamarix androssowii can enhance the drought tolerance of transgenic tobacco. In this study, the cloned LEA gene was transformed into half-high bush Northland blueberry in order to enhance its ability to tolerate cold stress. The cephalosporin antibiotics ceftriaxone, cefotaxime and cefazolin were used to optimize transformation of leaf explants, and kanamycin sulfate was used to select for transgenic shoots. PCR and Southern blot analysis confirmed 8 transformants with LEA gene copy numbers ranging from 1 to 7. The LEA chimeric gene was found to be normally transcribed in 6 transgenic lines by RT-PCR. The 8 transgenic lines were tested for cold tolerance by measuring the activities of peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) content and relative electrolyte leakage (REL). Overexpression of the LEA gene enhanced the activity of both POD and SOD under low temperature stress conditions. Lipid peroxidation in the transgenic lines was significantly lower than in non-transgenic plants after cold stress, as determined by MDA content and REL. Thus, our findings indicate that the LEA gene confers increased cold tolerance in the Northland blueberry and implicate the metabolic pathways through which it exerts this effect.

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Abbreviations

LEA:

Late embryogenesis abundant

POD:

Peroxidase

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

REL:

Relative electrolyte leakage

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

Km:

Kanamycin

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Jing Jiang (Northeast Forestry University) for kindly providing plant expression vector pROKII-LEA. We also thank Prof. Guifeng Liu (Northeast Forestry University) for her technical assistance, and Dr. Hexin Wang (Dalian University) for providing the plant materials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University/Key Laboratory of Forestry Genetics and Breeding, 150040, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China

    Xin Zhao

  2. Liaoning Forestry Vocation-Technical College, 110101, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China

    Xin Zhao & Xue-Zhong Zou

  3. The Professional and Technological Department of Liaoning University of TCM, 110101, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China

    Li-Ping Zhan

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  1. Xin Zhao
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  2. Li-Ping Zhan
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  3. Xue-Zhong Zou
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Correspondence to Xin Zhao.

Additional information

The Liaoning Provincial Department of Education Project (20060445 and L2010210).

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Zhao, X., Zhan, LP. & Zou, XZ. Improvement of cold tolerance of the half-high bush Northland blueberry by transformation with the LEA gene from Tamarix androssowii . Plant Growth Regul 63, 13–22 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-010-9507-4

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