Abstract
BackgroundGossypium hirsutum (upland cotton) is one of the principal fiber crops in the world. Cotton yield is highly affected by abiotic stresses, among which salt stress is considered as a major problem around the globe. Transgenic approach is efficient to improve cotton salt tolerance but depending on the availability of salt tolerance genes.ResultsIn this study we evaluated salt tolerance candidate gene ST7 from Thellungiella halophila, encoding a homolog of Arabidopsis aluminum-induced protein, in cotton. Our results showed that ThST7 overexpression in cotton improved germination under NaCl stress as well as seedling growth. Our field trials also showed that ThST7 transgenic cotton lines produced higher yield under salt stress conditions. The improved salt tolerance of the transgenic cotton lines was partially contributed by enhanced antioxidation as shown by diaminobenzidine (DAB) and nitrotetrazolium blue chloride (NBT) staining. Moreover, transcriptomic analysis of ThST7 overexpression lines showed a significant upregulation of the genes involved in ion homeostasis and antioxidation, consistent with the salt tolerance phenotype of the transgenic cotton.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that ThST7 has the ability to improve salt tolerance in cotton. The ThST7 transgenic cotton may be used in cotton breeding for salt tolerance cultivars.
Highlights
Gossypium hirsutum is one of the principal fiber crops in the world
We aimed to evaluate the salt tolerance conferred by ThST7 gene we previously isolated from Thellungiella halophilla in cotton
The expression of the transgene ThST7 was verified in the transgenic cotton lines by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) analysis (Additional file 1: Fig. S1B). T3 transgenic cotton seeds were assessed for germination either with 250 mmol·L−1 or without NaCl stress
Summary
Cotton yield is highly affected by abiotic stresses, among which salt stress is considered as a major problem around the globe. Salinity stress is one of the most acute and critical abiotic stress that limits the growth and yield of crops (Tester and Davenport 2003; Parida et al 2004). There is an immediate requirement to develop new varieties of salt tolerant crops that can cope with high salinity environments (Ma et al 2020). To withstand the salt stress, plants have developed intricate mechanisms The mechanisms of salt tolerance include the acclimatization to the osmotic stress, cytoplasmic N a+ exclusion, Na+ and Cl− accumulation tolerance and compartmentalization, occurring in a disciplined manner (Munns and Tester 2008)
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