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Ectopic overexpression of AtHDG11 in tall fescue resulted in enhanced tolerance to drought and salt stress

  • Genetic Transformation and Hybridization
  • Published:
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Abstract

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is a cool-season perennial grass, which has been conventionally grown in the temperate area. However, as a major type of cool-season turf grass, its growth has been extended to the sub-tropical climate or even to the transitional climate between the sub-tropical and the tropical, and, in some cases, to heavily salinized lands. The extended growth imposes a serious challenge to its tolerance to the abiotic stress, particularly to drought, salt and high temperature. Here, we report a successful introduction of Arabidopsis AtHDG11 into the tall fescue via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The ectopic overexpression of AtHDG11 under the control of CaMV 35S promoter with four enhancers resulted in significantly enhanced tolerance to drought and salt stress. No obvious adverse effects on growth and development were observed in the transgenic plants. The enhanced stress tolerance was associated with a more extensive root system, a lower level of malondialdehyde, a nearly normal Na+/K+ ratio, a higher level of proline and a kinetically accelerated induction of SOD and CAT activities observed in the transgenic plants during drought and/or salt stress, indicating that an enhanced ROS scavenging capability might play a significant role in the acquired tolerance to the abiotic stress.

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Abbreviations

2,4-D:

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid

6-BA:

6-Benzylaminopurine

CaMV:

Cauliflower mosaic virus

MS medium:

Murashige–Skoog medium

MSS medium:

Subculture MS medium

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

PPT:

Phosphinothricin

Pro:

Proline

RT:

Reverse transcription

TBA:

Thiobarbituric acid

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Acknowledgments

We thank Xianyong Zhang and Dr. Hongxuan Lin of the Institute of Plant Physiology & Ecology for their help in the measurement of Na+/K+ contents.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Plant Biology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, 200433, Shanghai, China

    Ya-Jun Cao, Qiang Wei, Yang Liao, He-Ling Song, Xian Li & Ben-Ke Kuai

  2. School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, 230027, Hefei, Anhui, China

    Cheng-Bin Xiang

Authors
  1. Ya-Jun Cao
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  2. Qiang Wei
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  3. Yang Liao
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  4. He-Ling Song
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  5. Xian Li
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  6. Cheng-Bin Xiang
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  7. Ben-Ke Kuai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ben-Ke Kuai.

Additional information

Communicated by A. Atanassov.

Ya-Jun Cao and Qiang Wei contributed equally to this work.

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Cao, YJ., Wei, Q., Liao, Y. et al. Ectopic overexpression of AtHDG11 in tall fescue resulted in enhanced tolerance to drought and salt stress. Plant Cell Rep 28, 579–588 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-008-0659-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-008-0659-x

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