Biologia Plantarum

, Volume 56, Issue 2, pp 237–246 | Cite as

Improved salt tolerance and delayed leaf senescence in transgenic cotton expressing the Agrobacterium IPT gene

  • Y. D. Liu
  • Z. J. Yin
  • J. W. Yu
  • J. LI
  • H. L. Wei
  • X. L. Han
  • F. F. Shen
Original Papers
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Abstract

The manipulation of cytokinin contents via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is an efficient tool for delaying leaf senescence and improving the resistance to environmental stresses. In the present study, cotton transformants harbouring the Agrobacterium tumefaciens isopentenyl transferase (IPT) gene under the control of the promoter of Gossypium hirsutum cysteine proteinase (Ghcysp) were generated. PCR and Southern blot analysis indicated that the foreign DNA fragment was successfully integrated into the cotton genome. The chlorophyll and cytokinin contents, and ROS-scavenging enzymatic activities were significantly increased in transgenic cotton lines, which resulted in a significant delay in leaf senescence. The growth characteristics of transgenic cotton lines resembled the non-transgenic lines except delaying premature senescence and the lint yield and fiber quality of transgenic lines were improved. In addition, the transgenic lines had higher biomasses, IPT transcripts, and endogenous cytokinin contents compared with those of non-transgenic lines under 200 mM NaCl stress.

Additional key words

Gossypium hirsutum isopentenyl transferase cytokinins NaCl senescence-specific promoter 

Abbreviations

CTAB

cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide

DAE

days after emergence

DAP

days after planting

iP

isopentenyladenine

iPA

isopentenyladenosine

IPT

isopentenyl transferase

LTN

leaves of the tenth node on main stem

ROS

reactive oxygen species

Z

zeatin

ZR

zeatin-riboside

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Notes

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the China Key Development Project for Basic Research (Grant 2007CB116208), and the China Major Projects for Transgenic Breeding (Grant Nos. 2008ZX005-004, 2008ZX08005-002, 2009ZX08005-020). Y.D. Liu and Z.J. Yin contributed equally to this work.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  • Y. D. Liu
    • 1
  • Z. J. Yin
    • 2
  • J. W. Yu
    • 2
  • J. LI
    • 3
  • H. L. Wei
    • 2
  • X. L. Han
    • 1
  • F. F. Shen
    • 1
  1. 1.College of AgronomyShandong Agricultural UniversityTaianShandong, P.R. China
  2. 2.Cotton Research InstituteChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAnyang, HenanP.R. China
  3. 3.College of PharmacyNankai UniversityTianjinP.R. China

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