Ectopic Expression of a Thellungiella salsuginea Aquaporin Gene, TsPIP1;1, Increased the Salt Tolerance of Rice

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2018 papers

Abstract

Aquaporins play important regulatory roles in the transport of water and small molecules in plants. In this study, a ThellungiellasalsugineaTsPIP1;1 aquaporin was transformed into Kitaake rice, and three transgenic lines were evaluated by profiling the changes of the physiological metabolism, osmotic potential, and differentially expressed genes under salt stress. The TsPIP1;1 protein contains six transmembrane domains and is localized in the cytoplasm membrane. Overexpression of the TsPIP1;1 gene not only increased the accumulation of prolines, soluble sugars and chlorophyll, but also lowered the osmotic potential and malondialdehyde content in rice under salt stress, and alleviated the amount of salt damage done to rice organs by regulating the distribution of Na/K ions, thereby promoting photosynthetic rates. Transcriptome sequencing confirmed that the differentially expressed genes that are up-regulated in rice positively respond to salt stimulus, the photosynthetic metabolic process, and the accumulation profiles of small molecules and Na/K ions. The co-expressed Rubisco and LHCA4 genes in rice were remarkably up-regulated under salt stress. This data suggests that overexpression of the TsPIP1;1 gene is involved in the regulation of water transport, the accumulation of Na/K ions, and the translocation of photosynthetic metabolites, thus conferring enhanced salt tolerance to rice.

Related Papers

• → Structure and function of aquaporin water channels(2000)751 cited
• → The Role of Aquaporins in Root Water Uptake(2002)604 cited
• → Molecular Biology of Aquaporins(2017)116 cited
• → Heteromerization of PIP aquaporins affects their intrinsic permeability(2013)115 cited
• Expression and Function of Human and Plant Aquaporins(2011)