Abstract
BackgroundDrought is a major abiotic stress that affects crop productivity worldwide. Sugarcane can withstand periods of water scarcity during the final stage of culm maturation, during which sucrose accumulation occurs. Meanwhile, prolonged periods of drought can cause severe plant losses.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn a previous study, we evaluated the transcriptome of drought-stressed plants to better understand sugarcane responses to drought. Among the up-regulated genes was Scdr1 (sugarcane drought-responsive 1). The aim of the research reported here was to characterize this gene. Scdr1 encodes a putative protein containing 248 amino acids with a large number of proline (19%) and cysteine (13%) residues. Phylogenetic analysis showed that ScDR1is in a clade with homologs from other monocotyledonous plants, separate from those of dicotyledonous plants. The expression of Scdr1 in different varieties of sugarcane plants has not shown a clear association with drought tolerance.Conclusions/SignificanceThe overexpression of Scdr1 in transgenic tobacco plants increased their tolerance to drought, salinity and oxidative stress, as demonstrated by increased photosynthesis, water content, biomass, germination rate, chlorophyll content and reduced accumulation of ROS. Physiological parameters, such as transpiration rate (E), net photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (gs) and internal leaf CO2 concentration, were less affected by abiotic stresses in transgenic Scdr1 plants compared with wild-type plants. Overall, our results indicated that Scdr1 conferred tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses, highlighting the potential of this gene for biotechnological applications.
Highlights
Crop yield is negatively influenced by a large number of environmental factors
Many novel sugarcane stress-induced genes putatively linked to drought and salt stress have been identified [20,21], but their function in the stress response remains unknown
Different responses to abiotic stresses are the result of cooperative interactions between multiple physiological, biochemical and morphological features. These interactions may vary between species and even varieties, as observed for drought stress in other plant species [22,23,24] and for the Scdr1 gene in this study in sugarcane
Summary
Abiotic stresses are a primary cause of reduced crop growth and productivity, and of these, drought, salinity, temperature, aluminum toxicity, flooding, pollution and radiation are among the most frequent [1]. There is a constant demand, especially in developing countries, for increased crop production to serve the increasing needs of the population. These needs can be satisfied by increasing the cultivated area (i.e., planting in regions that were not previously used) or by increasing crop productivity. To guarantee a sustainable crop yield, it is necessary to design and develop better crop varieties that can tolerate the harmful effects of constantly changing environmental factors. Prolonged periods of drought can cause severe plant losses
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