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Heterologous expression of rice calnexin (OsCNX) confers drought tolerance in Nicotiana tabacum

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Abstract

Calnexin (CNX) is an integral membrane protein of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and is a critical component of ER quality control machinery. It acts as a chaperone and ensures proper folding of newly synthesised glycoproteins. CNX shares a considerable homology with its luminal counterpart calreticulin (CRT). Together, they constitute CNX/CRT cycle which is imperative for proper folding of nascent proteins. CNX deficient organisms develop severe complications because of improper folding of proteins and consequently ER stress. CNX maintains calcium homeostasis by binding to the Ca2+ which is a central node in various signaling pathways. Phosphorylation of cytoplasmic tail of CNX controls the sarco endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase and thus the movement of Ca2+ in and out of its store-house, i.e. ER. Our studies on Oryza sativa CNX (OsCNX) reveal constitutive expression at various developmental stages and various tissues, thereby proving its requirement throughout the plant development. Further, its expression under various stress conditions gives an insight of the crosstalk existing between ER stress and abiotic stress signaling. This was confirmed by heterologous expression of OsCNX (OsCNX-HE) in tobacco and the OsCNX-HE lines were observed to exhibit better germination under mannitol stress and survival under dehydration stress conditions. The dehydration tolerance conferred by OsCNX appears to be ABA-dependent pathway.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank Department of Biotechnology, Government of India for the postdoctoral fellowship grant to M.S.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Molecular Biology Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Maryam Sarwat & Afsar Raza Naqvi

  2. Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Amity Institute of Pharmacy, Amity University, Noida, 201303, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Maryam Sarwat

  3. Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Afsar Raza Naqvi

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  1. Maryam Sarwat
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Correspondence to Maryam Sarwat.

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Sarwat, M., Naqvi, A.R. Heterologous expression of rice calnexin (OsCNX) confers drought tolerance in Nicotiana tabacum . Mol Biol Rep 40, 5451–5464 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-013-2643-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-013-2643-y

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