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Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene TPS1 improves drought tolerance in Zea mays L. by increasing the expression of SDD1 and reducing stomatal density

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Abstract

Trehalose, a non-reducing disaccharide, can effectively protect the biological structures of plants from damage under stress conditions (i.e., high or low temperature, drought, and dehydration) by forming a special protective membrane on the plant-cell surface. Transformation of maize with stably expressed trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS), the key enzyme of trehalose biosynthesis, to improve drought-resistance has important theoretical and economic values. In this study, we constructed the TPS1 gene expression vector driven by the rd29a promoter, transformed immature embryos using Agrobacterium-mediated methods, and screened the transgenic maize plants. As a result, trehalose accumulated in rd29a::TPS1 transgenic maize plants even though it was not detected in wild-type (WT) maize. After determination under repeated drought conditions, we found that the survival rate of the rd29a::TPS1 maize was 70 % higher than that of the WT. Photosynthetic physiological indicators of transgenic maize under drought conditions were better than those of the WT. Microscopic observations of the detached newborn leaves showed that stomata density on the leaf surface of rd29a::TPS1 transgenic maize after drought treatment was reduced by 20 % rom that on the WT leaf, while there were fewer and shorter villi on the leaf surface of transgenic maize than on the WT leaf. In addition, real-time PCR analyses showed that stomata density and distribution 1 (SDD1) expression in the rd29a::TPS1 transgenic maize increased. We concluded that TPS1 improves drought-resistance in maize not only by increasing trehalose content but also by decreasing stomata density and reducing the transpiration rate in transgenic maize plants.

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Acknowledgments

This work supported by the Genetically Breeding Major Project of the Ministry of Agriculture of China (2014ZX0801008B-002, 2014ZX08010-003) and Genetically Breeding Project of Science and Technology Agency of Guizhou Province (2004NZ004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The State Key Lab of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Biological Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, Guizhou, People’s Republic of China

    Yanbo Liu, Lizhen Han, Lijun Qin & Degang Zhao

  2. Institute of Agro-Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, Guizhou, People’s Republic of China

    Yanbo Liu, Lizhen Han, Lijun Qin & Degang Zhao

  3. Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, Guizhou, People’s Republic of China

    Degang Zhao

  4. College of Life Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, Guizhou, People’s Republic of China

    Degang Zhao

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  1. Yanbo Liu
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  2. Lizhen Han
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  3. Lijun Qin
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  4. Degang Zhao
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Correspondence to Degang Zhao.

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Liu, Y., Han, L., Qin, L. et al. Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene TPS1 improves drought tolerance in Zea mays L. by increasing the expression of SDD1 and reducing stomatal density. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 120, 779–789 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-014-0647-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-014-0647-5

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