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Overexpressed glutamine synthetase gene modifies nitrogen metabolism and abiotic stress responses in rice

  • Biotic and Abiotic Stress
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Abstract

Glutamine synthetase (GS; EC 6.3.1.2) is a key enzyme in nitrogen metabolism; it catalyzes the critical incorporation of inorganic ammonium into glutamine. Two full-length cDNAs that encode the rice (Oryza sativa) cytosolic glutamine synthetase1 genes (OsGS1;1 and OsGS1;2) were isolated from a Minghui 63 normalized cDNA library, and glnA encoding GS in Escherichia coli was isolated by PCR amplification. Transformants for GS gene (GS1;1, GS1;2, and glnA) in rice were produced by an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation method, and transcripts of GS gene accumulated at higher levels in the primary transgenic plants. Our results indicated an increased metabolic level in GS-overexpressed plants, which showed higher total GS activities and soluble protein concentrations in leaves and higher total amino acids and total nitrogen content in the whole plant. Decreases in both grain yield production and total amino acids were observed in seeds of GS-overexpressed plants compared with wild-type plants. In addition, GS1;2-overexpressed plants exhibited resistance to Basta selection and higher sensitivity to salt, drought, and cold stress conditions, whereas the other two types of GS-overexpressed plants failed to show any significant changes for these stress conditions compared with wild-type plants.

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Abbreviations

GS:

Glutamine synthetase

GOGAT:

Glutamate synthase

AS:

Asparagine synthetase

Gln:

Glutamine

Glu:

Glutamate

Asn:

Asparagine

Asp:

Aspartate

Ala:

Alanine

2-OG:

α-Ketoglutarate

rbcS:

Rubisco small subunit

γ-GHA:

γ-Glutamylhydroxamate

PPT:

Phosphinothricin

MS:

Murashige and Skoog

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by grants from the National Basic Research Program of China (2005CB120905); the National Special Key Project of China on Functional Genomics of Major Plants and Animals; the National Natural Science Foundation of China; and the Cultivation Fund of the Key Scientific and Technical Innovation Project, Ministry of Education of China (No 707045).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Hongmei Cai, Ying Zhou, Jinghua Xiao, Xianghua Li, Qifa Zhang & Xingming Lian

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  1. Hongmei Cai
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  2. Ying Zhou
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  3. Jinghua Xiao
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  4. Xianghua Li
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  5. Qifa Zhang
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Correspondence to Xingming Lian.

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Communicated by W.-H. Wu.

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Cai, H., Zhou, Y., Xiao, J. et al. Overexpressed glutamine synthetase gene modifies nitrogen metabolism and abiotic stress responses in rice. Plant Cell Rep 28, 527–537 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-008-0665-z

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