TaCIPK29, a CBL-Interacting Protein Kinase Gene from Wheat, Confers Salt Stress Tolerance in Transgenic Tobacco

Xiaomin Deng,Lihong Chen,Wei Hu,Shasha Li,Guangyuan He,Yin Li,Yunyi Liu,Guangxiao Yang,Qingchen Luo,Jialu Feng,Jiapeng Han,Fan Zhang,Shiyi Zhou,Bin Fang,Shuya Wei,Lam-Son Phan Tran

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069881

Xiaomin Deng, Lihong Chen + Show 14 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069881

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Jul 29, 2013
Citations: 99	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Abstract

Calcineurin B-like protein-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) have been found to be responsive to abiotic stress. However, their precise functions and the related molecular mechanisms in abiotic stress tolerance are not completely understood, especially in wheat. In the present study, TaCIPK29 was identified as a new member of CIPK gene family in wheat. TaCIPK29 transcript increased after NaCl, cold, methyl viologen (MV), abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene treatments. Over-expression of TaCIPK29 in tobacco resulted in increased salt tolerance, which was demonstrated by higher germination rates, longer root lengths and better growth status of transgenic tobacco plants compared to controls when both were treated with salt stress. Physiological measurements indicated that transgenic tobacco seedlings retained high K+/Na+ ratios and Ca2+ content by up-regulating some transporter genes expression and also possessed lower H2O2 levels and reduced membrane injury by increasing the expression and activities of catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) under salt stress. Moreover, transgenic lines conferred tolerance to oxidative stress by increasing the activity and expression of CAT. Finally, TaCIPK29 was located throughout cells and it preferentially interacted with TaCBL2, TaCBL3, NtCBL2, NtCBL3 and NtCAT1. Taken together, our results showed that TaCIPK29 functions as a positive factor under salt stress and is involved in regulating cations and reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis.

Highlights

Soil salinity, as a severe abiotic stress factor, limits the growth of most plant species and can cause significant losses in crop yield
This TC371359 consisted of six expressed sequence tags (ESTs), in which BQ753202 was identified from a salt-stressed root cDNA library (TA065E1X) [27]
Further analysis indicated that the transgenic lines retained higher K+/Na+ ratios than the controls under salt stress (Fig. 4A). These results suggested that over-expression of TaCIPK29 had an effect on regulating the contents of these cations, which were involved in maintaining higher K+/Na+ ratios and Ca2+ content in transgenic tobacco plants under salt stress

Summary

Introduction

As a severe abiotic stress factor, limits the growth of most plant species and can cause significant losses in crop yield. Salt stress can affect photosynthesis, growth, energy metabolism, lipid metabolism and protein synthesis [1]. The major factors of plant responses to salt stress include perception and transduction of stress signals. As a second messenger, plays an important role in various signal transduction pathways [2]. Several classes of calcium-sensing proteins, including calmodulin (CaM), calmodulin-like (CML), calcineurin B-like (CBL) proteins, and calciumdependent protein kinases (CDPKs), have been identified in plants [3]. Calcineurin B-like protein-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) belong to a Ca2+ mediated CBL-CIPK network in response to stress [4,5,6,7]. Genome-wide analysis has identified 26 CIPKs in Arabidopsis [8], 33 CIPKs in rice [6,8], 27 CIPKs in poplar [9] and 43 CIPKs in maize [10]

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