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Over-expression of Arabidopsis thaliana β-carotene hydroxylase (chyB) gene enhances drought tolerance in transgenic tobacco

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Abstract

Carotenoids are essential for photosynthesis and photoprotection in plant life. In order to study the protective role of zeaxanthin under drought stress, we increased the capacity for its accumulation in tobacco by over-expression of Arabidopsis β-carotene hydroxylase chyB gene. This manipulation leads to a 2–4 fold increase of xanthophylls cycle pigments. Under high-light condition, the transformants converted more β-carotene into zeaxanthin compared to the controls. The enhancement of zeaxanthin increased the total antioxidant capacity in lipid phase and made plants more tolerant to drought stress, as shown by less leaf necrosis, reduced lipid peroxidation and enhanced photosynthesis rate. The function of the gene in drought tolerance was explored and discussed. We conclude that genetic manipulation of chyB gene may present a powerful method in the production of drought-tolerant crops.

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Abbreviations

VAZ:

Violaxanthin, Antheraxanthin and Zeaxanthin

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

NADP:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

RuBP:

Ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Rolando Moran and Professor Prachant Kawar for their help in refining this manuscript. This study was supported by National GMO Major Projects of China: Breeding of Transformed Maize to Produce More Carotenoids (2009ZX08003-019B), Establishment and Refinement of Soybean Transformation System with Higher Efficiency and Safety (2009ZX08010-013B), Breeding of Transformed Soybean Resistant to Herbicide (2011ZX08004-001) and Breeding of Transformed Maize with Higher Nutrient Absorption Efficiency (2011ZX08003-005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, People’s Republic of China

    Qing Zhao & Jia Zhao

  2. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, People’s Republic of China

    Qing Zhao, Gang Wang, Jing Ji, Chao Jin & Weidang Wu

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  1. Qing Zhao
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  2. Gang Wang
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  3. Jing Ji
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  4. Chao Jin
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  5. Weidang Wu
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  6. Jia Zhao
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Correspondence to Gang Wang.

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Zhao, Q., Wang, G., Ji, J. et al. Over-expression of Arabidopsis thaliana β-carotene hydroxylase (chyB) gene enhances drought tolerance in transgenic tobacco. J. Plant Biochem. Biotechnol. 23, 190–198 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13562-013-0201-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13562-013-0201-2

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