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Transgenic potato overproducing l-ascorbic acid resisted an increase in methylglyoxal under salinity stress via maintaining higher reduced glutathione level and glyoxalase enzyme activity

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Abstract

Salt-tolerance was studied in transgenic potato. It was conferred by overexpression of ascorbate pathway enzyme (d-galacturonic acid reductase, GalUR). As genetic engineering of the GalUR gene in potato enhances its ascorbic acid content (l-AsA), and subsequently plants suffered minimal oxidative stress-induced damage, we now report on the comprehensive aptness of this engineering approach for enhanced salt tolerance in transgenic potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Taedong Valley). Potatoes overexpressing GalUR grew and tuberized in continuous presence of 200 mM of NaCl. The transgenic plants maintained a higher reduced to oxidized glutathione (GSH:GSSG) ratio together with enhanced activity of glutathione dependent antioxidative and glyoxalase enzymes under salinity stress. The transgenics resisted an increase in methylglyoxal that increased radically in untransformed control plants under salinity stress. This is the first report of genetic engineering of ascorbate pathway gene in maintaining higher level of GSH homeostasis along with higher glyoxalase activity inhibiting the accumulation in methylglyoxal (a potent cytotoxic compound) under salt stress. These results suggested the engineering of ascorbate pathway enzymes as a major step towards developing salinity tolerant crop plants.

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Abbreviations

ASH:

Ascorbate

APx:

Ascorbate peroxidase

GalUR:

d-Galacturonic acid reductase

GPx:

Glutathione peroxidase

GR:

Glutathione reductase

Gly I:

Glyoxalase I

Gly II:

Glyoxalase II

MG:

Methylglyoxal

NADP:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

GSSG:

Oxidized glutathione

GSH:

Reduced glutathione

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

UT:

Untransformed control

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Konkuk University research fund (2010). The research fellowship from Konkuk University to JV, MAG and KV as research fellow is gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported by a grant from the Next-Generation BioGreen 21 Program (No. PJ008182), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

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  1. Chandrama Prakash Upadhyaya

    Present address: Department of Botany, Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur, 495009, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Konkuk University, 1, Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, Korea Republic

    Chandrama Prakash Upadhyaya, Jelli Venkatesh, Mayank Anand Gururani, Leonid Asnin, Kavita Sharma, Hemavathi Ajappala & Se Won Park

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Correspondence to Se Won Park.

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Upadhyaya, C.P., Venkatesh, J., Gururani, M.A. et al. Transgenic potato overproducing l-ascorbic acid resisted an increase in methylglyoxal under salinity stress via maintaining higher reduced glutathione level and glyoxalase enzyme activity. Biotechnol Lett 33, 2297–2307 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-011-0684-7

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