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AtPGK2, a member of PGKs gene family in Arabidopsis, has a positive role in salt stress tolerance

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Abstract

Phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) plays a critical role not only in photosynthetic carbon metabolism but also in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. Although a large number of PGKs have been cloned and purified from a variety of plant sources, their physiological functions in response to abiotic stresses still remain elusive. Here we identified and characterized a member of PGKs gene family, AtPGK2, from Arabidopsis thaliana. Sequence analysis showed that AtPGK2 had high sequence similarity to PGKs proteins from other species. By using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and histochemical β-glucuronidase assays, we demonstrated that AtPGK2 was mainly expressed in germinating seeds and flowers, and it could be induced significantly by salt stress. Through morphological and physiological analyses, we found that over-expression of AtPGK2 conferred salt tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Furthermore, AtPGK2-overexpressing plants showed enhanced expression of stress-responsive marker genes, including RD29A, RD29B, KIN1 and KIN2. Collectively, our results suggested that over-expression of AtPGK2 in Arabidopsis decreased plant sensitivity to salt stress, and AtPGK2 may play a positive role in salt stress tolerance. To our knowledge, this is the first study on the physiological functions of PGK in response to salt stress in higher plants.

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Abbreviations

BPG:

Bisphosphoglycerate

CaMV:

Cauliflower mosaic virus

CDS:

Coding sequence

Col:

Columbia-0

GUS:

β-Glucuronidase

kDa:

Kilodaltons

MW:

Molecular weight

PG:

Phosphoglycerate

PGK:

Phosphoglycerate kinase

pI:

Isoelectric poin

RT-PCR:

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction

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Acknowledgments

We would like to give our great thanks to Mrs. Lixia Ma for technical assistance. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No. 31100185) and the Science Foundation of Jiangxi Provincial Education Department (No. GJJ12243) to Dong Liu.

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  1. College of Agronomy, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, Jiangxi, China

    Dong Liu, Weichun Li, Jianfeng Cheng & Ling Hou

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  1. Dong Liu
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  2. Weichun Li
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  4. Ling Hou
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Correspondence to Dong Liu.

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Liu, D., Li, W., Cheng, J. et al. AtPGK2, a member of PGKs gene family in Arabidopsis, has a positive role in salt stress tolerance. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 120, 251–262 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-014-0601-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-014-0601-6

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