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The thioredoxin h-type TdTrxh2 protein of durum wheat confers abiotic stress tolerance of the transformant Arabidopsis plants through its protective role and the regulation of redox homoeostasis

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Abstract

The thioredoxins (Trxs) are ubiquitous and they play a crucial role in various biological processes like growth and stress response. Although the functions of Trxs proteins are described in several previous reports, the function of the isoform Trxh2 of durum wheat (Triticum durum L.), designated as TdTrxh2, in abiotic stress response still unknown. Thus, we aimed in this study the functional characterization of TdTrxh2 through its expression in yeast cells and Arabidopsis plants. Sequence analysis revealed that TdTrxh2 protein shared the conserved redox site with the other Trxh from other plant species. Under various abiotic stresses, TdTrxh2 was up-regulated in leaves and roots of durum wheat. Interestingly, we demonstrated that TdTrxh2 exhibit protective effect on LDH activity against various treatments. Besides, the expression of TdTrxh2 in yeast cells conferred their tolerance to multiple stresses. Moreover, transgenic Arabidopsis expressing TdTrxh2 showed tolerance phenotype to several abiotic stresses. This tolerance was illustrated by high rate of proline accumulation, root proliferation, low accumulation of reactive oxygen species like H2O2 and O2·-, and high antioxidant CAT and POD enzymes activities. All these findings suggested that TdTrxh2 promotes abiotic stress tolerance through the redox homoeostasis regulation and its protective role.

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Funding

This research has been founded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research-Tunisia (CP- 2019-2022).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax (CBS), BP1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia

    Hanen Kamoun, Kaouthar Feki, Sana Tounsi, Olfa Jrad & Faiçal Brini

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  1. Hanen Kamoun
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  2. Kaouthar Feki
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  3. Sana Tounsi
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  4. Olfa Jrad
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  5. Faiçal Brini
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Contributions

HK, KF, and FB conceived and designed the work. HK, ST, and OJ carried the experiments. HK and KF analyzed the data, and KF wrote the original draft. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Faiçal Brini.

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Kamoun, H., Feki, K., Tounsi, S. et al. The thioredoxin h-type TdTrxh2 protein of durum wheat confers abiotic stress tolerance of the transformant Arabidopsis plants through its protective role and the regulation of redox homoeostasis. Protoplasma 261, 317–331 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-023-01899-7

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