Pea DNA helicase 45 overexpression in tobacco confers high salinity tolerance without affecting yield

Salt tolerance is an important trait that is required to overcome salinity-induced reduction in plant productivity. We have reported previously the isolation of a pea DNA helicase 45 (PDH45) that exhibits striking homology with the eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF-4A. Here, we report tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2005-01, Vol.102 (2), p.509-514
Main Authors: Sanan-Mishra, N, Pham, X.H, Sopory, S.K, Tuteja, N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Base Sequence
Biological Sciences
Botany
crop yield
Crops
Crops, Agricultural - growth & development
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA helicases
DNA Helicases - genetics
DNA Helicases - physiology
Enzyme Induction
Enzymes
gene induction
gene overexpression
gene transfer
Leaves
Messenger RNA
Molecular Sequence Data
Nicotiana - drug effects
Nicotiana - enzymology
Nicotiana - genetics
Nicotiana tabacum
Peas
Pisum sativum
Pisum sativum - enzymology
Plants
Plants, Genetically Modified
RNA
Salinity
Salt
salt stress
salt tolerance
Seedlings
Sodium Chloride - pharmacology
Soil salinity
Tobacco
transgenes
Transgenic plants
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Summary:Salt tolerance is an important trait that is required to overcome salinity-induced reduction in plant productivity. We have reported previously the isolation of a pea DNA helicase 45 (PDH45) that exhibits striking homology with the eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF-4A. Here, we report that PDH45 mRNA is induced in pea seedlings in response to high salt, and its overexpression driven by a constitutive cauliflower mosaic virus-35S promoter in tobacco plants confers salinity tolerance, thus suggesting a previously undescribed pathway for manipulating stress tolerance in crop plants. The T0transgenic plants showed high levels of PDH45 protein in normal and stress conditions, as compared with WT plants. The T0transgenics also showed tolerance to high salinity as tested by a leaf disk senescence assay. The T1transgenics were able to grow to maturity and set normal viable seeds under continuous salinity stress without any reduction in plant yield in terms of seed weight. Measurement of Na+ions in different parts of the plant showed higher accumulation in the old leaves and negligible accumulation in seeds of T1transgenic lines as compared with the WT plants. The possible mechanism of salinity tolerance is discussed. Overexpression of PDH45 provides a possible example of the exploitation of DNA/RNA unwinding pathways for engineering salinity tolerance without affecting yield in crop plants.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0406485102