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Pyramiding of AtEDT1/HDG11 and Cry2Aa2 into pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) enhances drought tolerance and insect resistance without yield decrease

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) volume 120, pages 919–932 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Improvement of biotic and abiotic stress tolerance without yield decrease has been a great challenge in vegetable breeding. Functional stacking of multiple resistant genes could potentially be an effective strategy against more different stress. Here, we report that constitutive co-expression of Arabidopsis thaliana homodomain-leucine zipper transcription factor Enhanced Drought Tolerance/HOMEODOMAIN GLABROUS11 (AtEDT1/HDG11) and Bacillus thuringiensis Cry2Aa2 was able to increase pepper drought tolerance and insect resistance. More importantly, fruit yield was improved under both normal and drought stress conditions. The improved tolerance to drought stress was associated with improved root system and reduced stomatal density. Compared to the non-transgenic control, the transgenic pepper plants also had higher levels of chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence (Fm/Fv), proline, soluble sugar, abscisic acid, and ROS scavenging capacity under dehydration stress conditions. The increased flower number, elevated fruit weight, and improved fruit number all contributed to the increased yield of transgenic pepper. In addition, bioassays showed that the transgenic plants were effective to control the Prodenia litura, producing a mortality rate of 81.3 % after 5 days of infection. Therefore, our study indicates that stacking of AtEDT1/HDG11 and Cry2Aa2 in pepper plants can improve drought tolerance and insect resistance, demonstrating application of AtEDT1/HDG11 and Cry2Aa2 has the potential to enhance drought tolerance and insect resistance.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

AtEDT1/HDG11 :

Enhanced Drought Tolerance1/HOMEODOMAIN GLABROUS11

CAT:

Catalase

FW:

Fresh weight

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

qRT-PCR:

Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction

RT-PCR:

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction

ROS:

Reactive oxygen specie

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

T:

Transgenic plant

WT:

Non-transgenic plant

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the key project of Guangdong Science and Technology Section (2010A020102001) and Agricultural Section, The key project of Guangzhou Science and Technology Section (2011Y2-0001511BppZXbb3140003). We thank Prof CB- Xiang for providing the PCB2004C-HDG11 vector, XJ-Yin for providing resistance Prodenia litura larvae.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China

      Zhangsheng Zhu, Xiaoxia Xu, Bihao Cao, Changming Chen, Qinghua Chen, Guoju Chen & Jianjun Lei

    2. National Engineering Research Center of Plant Space Breeding, SCAU, Guangzhou, 510642, China

      Zhangsheng Zhu, Xiaoxia Xu, Bihao Cao, Changming Chen, Qinghua Chen, Guoju Chen & Jianjun Lei

    3. Key Laboratory of Biology, Innovation and Utilization for Germplasm Resources in Horticultural Crops in Southern China, Guangzhou, 510642, China

      Zhangsheng Zhu, Xiaoxia Xu, Bihao Cao, Changming Chen, Qinghua Chen, Guoju Chen & Jianjun Lei

    4. Higher Education Institutes, SCAU, Guangzhou, 510642, China

      Zhangsheng Zhu, Xiaoxia Xu, Bihao Cao, Changming Chen, Qinghua Chen, Guoju Chen & Jianjun Lei

    5. School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230022, China

      Chengbin Xiang

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    Zhangsheng Zhu and Xiaoxia Xu have contributed equally to this work.

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    Zhu, Z., Xu, X., Cao, B. et al. Pyramiding of AtEDT1/HDG11 and Cry2Aa2 into pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) enhances drought tolerance and insect resistance without yield decrease. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 120, 919–932 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-014-0600-7

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