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Overexpression of Arabidopsis thaliana Na+/H+ antiporter gene enhanced salt resistance in transgenic poplar (Populus × euramericana ‘Neva’)

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Abstract

Salinity is a major abiotic stress factor limiting plant growth and productivity. One possible method to enhance plant salt-resistance is to compartmentalize sodium ions away from the cytosol. In the present work, a vacuolar Na+/H+ antiporter gene AtNHX1 from Arabidopsis thaliana, was transferred into Populus × euramericana ‘Neva’ by Agrobacterium tumefaciens in order to enhance poplar salt-resistance. The results showed that the transgenic poplar were more resistant to NaCl than the wild-type (WT) in greenhouse condition. Compared with the WT, plant growth and photosynthetic capacity of the transgenic plants were enhanced, and the transgenic plants accumulated more Na+ and K+ in roots and leaves under the same NaCl condition, whereas malondialdehyde and relative electrical conductivity were lower. All of these properties of the transgenic poplar were likely to be a consequence of the overexpression of AtNHX1 caused Na+ sequestration in the vacuoles and improved K+ absorption, thus reducing their toxic effects. These results indicated overexpression of the AtNHX1 enhanced salt-resistance of poplar, and AtNHX1 played an important role in the compartmentation of Na+ into the vacuoles. Therefore, this study provides an effective way for improving salt resistance in trees.

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Abbreviations

AtNHX1 :

Tonoplast-associated Na+/H+ antiporter gene of Arabidopsis

C a :

Atmospheric CO2 concentration

C i :

Intercellular CO2 concentration

DW:

Dry weight

F v/F m :

Maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII

G s :

Stomatal conductance

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

nptII :

Neomycin phosphotransferase II gene

P n :

Net photosynthetic rate

REC:

Relative electrical conductivity

RT-PCR:

Reverse transcription

TR:

Transgenic poplar

WT:

Wild-type poplar

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Acknowledgments

We thank the National Key Project of Scientific and Technical Supporting Programs funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2006BAD09A08-03-01) and the National High Technology Research and Development Program (863 Program) of China (No. 2007AA091702) supported the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China

    Chaoqiang Jiang, Qingsong Zheng, Zhaopu Liu, Ling Liu, Gengmao Zhao & Xiaohua Long

  2. Tobacco Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, 230031, Anhui, China

    Chaoqiang Jiang

  3. Jiangsu Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China

    Wenjun Xu

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  1. Chaoqiang Jiang
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  2. Qingsong Zheng
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  3. Zhaopu Liu
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  5. Ling Liu
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  6. Gengmao Zhao
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Correspondence to Zhaopu Liu.

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Communicated by U. Luettge.

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Jiang, C., Zheng, Q., Liu, Z. et al. Overexpression of Arabidopsis thaliana Na+/H+ antiporter gene enhanced salt resistance in transgenic poplar (Populus × euramericana ‘Neva’). Trees 26, 685–694 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-011-0635-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-011-0635-x

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