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Transgenic Potato Plants Overexpressing SOD and APX Exhibit Enhanced Lignification and Starch Biosynthesis with Improved Salt Stress Tolerance

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Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a major crop worldwide and its productivity is severely reduced by high soil salinity. The aim of the current study was to gain insights into the response and regulation of the antioxidant system in the transgenic potato, overexpressing two genes viz. thermostable CuZn-superoxide dismutase (PaSOD) gene from polyextremophile high-altitude plant Potentilla atrosanguinea and ascorbate peroxide (RaAPX) gene from Rheum australe under salinity stress. Transgenic lines and wild type (WT) were assessed under 50, 100, and 150 mM concentrations of NaCl treatment at the anatomical, transcriptional and metabolic levels. Although superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxide (APX) activities in transgenic lines were significantly higher than WT under salt stress, the secondary cell wall lignification was profoundly affected by the modulated antioxidant enzymes activities and the corresponding H2O2 levels in transgenic. Expression profiles showed that the several genes and transcription factors directly involved in lignin biosynthesis were profoundly induced in transgenic lines as compared to WT. In addition, transgenic plants harbored increased starch accumulation, improved growth attributes, and reduced accumulation of reactive oxygen species than WT plants. Together, these results indicated that the expression of SOD and APX genes in transgenic potato may function as a positive set of physiological, anatomical, and molecular adjustments in the H2O2 regulated lignin biosynthesis signaling pathway, enabling the plants to withstand severe saline conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India, under CSIR Network Projects: PlaGen (BSC0107) and SIMPLE (BSC0109) and Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC), India. AS, AKP, and VS acknowledge fellowships awarded by the CSIR, India. This paper represents CSIR-IHBT communication number 3668.

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  1. Awadhesh Kumar Pal

    Present address: Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, 813 210, India

  2. Amrina Shafi and Awadhesh Kumar Pal contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, HP, 176061, India

    Amrina Shafi, Awadhesh Kumar Pal, Vishal Sharma, Sonika Kalia, Sanjay Kumar, Paramvir Singh Ahuja & Anil Kumar Singh

  2. Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research, New Delhi, India

    Amrina Shafi, Vishal Sharma, Sanjay Kumar, Paramvir Singh Ahuja & Anil Kumar Singh

  3. ICAR-Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, PDU Campus, IINRG, Namkum, Ranchi, JH, 834010, India

    Anil Kumar Singh

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Shafi, A., Pal, A.K., Sharma, V. et al. Transgenic Potato Plants Overexpressing SOD and APX Exhibit Enhanced Lignification and Starch Biosynthesis with Improved Salt Stress Tolerance. Plant Mol Biol Rep 35, 504–518 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-017-1041-3

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