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Ectopic expression of pigeonpea cold and drought regulatory protein (CcCDR) in yeast and tobacco affords multiple abiotic stress tolerance

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Abstract

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.) cold and drought regulatory protein encoding gene (CcCDR) has been introduced into yeast and tobacco for its functional validation. In yeast, expression of CcCDR imparted marked tolerance against abiotic stresses exerted by PEG and NaCl. Transgenic tobacco lines, expressing CcCDR under the control of CaMV35S and rd29A promoters, when subjected to mannitol, NaCl and cold (4 °C) stress, developed into healthy plants with profuse root system, increased biomass, root length and chlorophyll content in contrast to the weak-stunted wild-type plants. Transgenic plants also showed increased levels of proline, reducing sugars and endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) content. Exogenous ABA treatment resulted in increased hypersensitivity and decreased stomatal aperture size of transgenic plants compared to wild type. Localization studies confirmed that CcCDR could enter the nucleus as revealed by intense fluorescence, indicating its plausible interaction with various nuclear proteins. The overall results amply demonstrate the intrinsic effect of CcCDR in bestowing multiple abiotic stress tolerance at cellular and whole plant levels. Accordingly, the multipotent CcCDR seems promising as a prime candidate gene to fortify crop plants with abiotic stress tolerance.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Osmania University for the support and TS is thankful to the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, for the award of Research Fellowship. We are thankful to Prof. T. Papi Reddy for critical reading and improving the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Plant Molecular Biology, Osmania University, Hyderabad, 500 007, A.P., India

    Srinath Tamirisa, Vudem Dashavantha Reddy & Khareedu Venkateswara Rao

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  1. Srinath Tamirisa
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  2. Vudem Dashavantha Reddy
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  3. Khareedu Venkateswara Rao
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Correspondence to Khareedu Venkateswara Rao.

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Tamirisa, S., Reddy, V.D. & Rao, K.V. Ectopic expression of pigeonpea cold and drought regulatory protein (CcCDR) in yeast and tobacco affords multiple abiotic stress tolerance. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 119, 489–499 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-014-0549-6

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