Salt Tolerance Of Sweetpotato Research Articles

Genome-Wide Identification of DUF668 Gene Family and Expression Analysis under Drought and Salt Stresses in Sweet Potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam

The domain of unknown function 668 (DUF668) is a gene family that plays a vital role in responses to adversity coercion stresses in plant. However, the function of the DUF668 gene family is not fully understood in sweet potato. In this study, bioinformatics methods were used to analyze the number, physicochemical properties, evolution, structure, and promoter cis-acting elements of the IbDUF668 family genes, and RNA-seq and qRT-PCR were performed to detect gene expression and their regulation under hormonal and abiotic stress. A total of 14 IbDUF668 proteins were identified in sweet potato, distributed on nine chromosomes. By phylogenetic analysis, IbDUF668 proteins can be divided into two subfamilies. Transcriptome expression profiling revealed that many genes from DUF668 in sweet potato showed specificity and differential expression under cold, heat, drought, salt and hormones (ABA, GA3 and IAA). Four genes (IbDUF668-6, 7, 11 and 13) of sweet potato were significantly upregulated by qRT-PCR under ABA, drought and NaCl stress. Results suggest that the DUF668 gene family is involved in drought and salt tolerance in sweet potato, and it will further provide the basic information of DUF668 gene mechanisms in plants.

Overexpression of phosphatidylserine synthase IbPSS1 affords cellular Na+ homeostasis and salt tolerance by activating plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiport activity in sweet potato roots

Phosphatidylserine synthase (PSS)-mediated phosphatidylserine (PS) synthesis is crucial for plant development. However, little is known about the contribution of PSS to Na+ homeostasis regulation and salt tolerance in plants. Here, we cloned the IbPSS1 gene, which encodes an ortholog of Arabidopsis AtPSS1, from sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.). The transient expression of IbPSS1 in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves increased PS abundance. We then established an efficient Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated in vivo root transgenic system for sweet potato. Overexpression of IbPSS1 through this system markedly decreased cellular Na+ accumulation in salinized transgenic roots (TRs) compared with adventitious roots. The overexpression of IbPSS1 enhanced salt-induced Na+/H+ antiport activity and increased plasma membrane (PM) Ca2+-permeable channel sensitivity to NaCl and H2O2 in the TRs. We confirmed the important role of IbPSS1 in improving salt tolerance in transgenic sweet potato lines obtained from an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation system. Similarly, compared with the wild-type (WT) plants, the transgenic lines presented decreased Na+ accumulation, enhanced Na+ exclusion, and increased PM Ca2+-permeable channel sensitivity to NaCl and H2O2 in the roots. Exogenous application of lysophosphatidylserine triggered similar shifts in Na+ accumulation and Na+ and Ca2+ fluxes in the salinized roots of WT. Overall, this study provides an efficient and reliable transgenic method for functional genomic studies of sweet potato. Our results revealed that IbPSS1 contributes to the salt tolerance of sweet potato by enabling Na+ homeostasis and Na+ exclusion in the roots, and the latter process is possibly controlled by PS reinforcing Ca2+ signaling in the roots.

A ζ-carotene desaturase gene, IbZDS, increases β-carotene and lutein contents and enhances salt tolerance in transgenic sweetpotato

ζ-Carotene desaturase (ZDS) is one of the key enzymes in carotenoid biosynthesis pathway. However, the ZDS gene has not been applied to carotenoid improvement of plants. Its roles in tolerance to abiotic stresses have not been reported. In this study, the IbZDS gene was isolated from storage roots of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) cv. Nongdafu 14. Its overexpression significantly increased β-carotene and lutein contents and enhanced salt tolerance in transgenic sweetpotato (cv. Kokei No. 14) plants. Significant up-regulation of lycopene β-cyclase (β-LCY) and β-carotene hydroxylase (β-CHY) genes and significant down-regulation of lycopene ε-cyclase (ε-LCY) and ε-carotene hydroxylase (ε-CHY) genes were found in the transgenic plants. Abscisic acid (ABA) and proline contents and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities were significantly increased, whereas malonaldehyde (MDA) content was significantly decreased in the transgenic plants under salt stress. The salt stress-responsive genes encoding pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (P5CR), SOD, CAT, ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and POD were found to be significantly up-regulated in the transgenic plants under salt stress. This study indicates that the IbZDS gene has the potential to be applied for improving β-carotene and lutein contents and salt tolerance in sweetpotato and other plants.

Transcript profile analysis reveals important roles of jasmonic acid signalling pathway in the response of sweet potato to salt stress

Sweet potato is an important food and bio-energy crop, and investigating the mechanisms underlying salt tolerance will provide information for salt-tolerant breeding of this crop. Here, the root transcriptomes of the salt-sensitive variety Lizixiang and the salt-tolerant line ND98 were compared to identify the genes and pathways involved in salt stress responses. In total, 8,744 and 10,413 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in Lizixiang and ND98, respectively, were involved in salt responses. A lower DNA methylation level was detected in ND98 than in Lizixiang. In both genotypes, the DEGs, which function in phytohormone synthesis and signalling and ion homeostasis, may underlie the different degrees of salt tolerance. Significant up-regulations of the genes involved in the jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and signalling pathways and ion transport, more accumulation of JA, a higher degree of stomatal closure and a lower level of Na+ were found in ND98 compared to Lizixiang. This is the first report on transcriptome responses to salt tolerance in sweet potato. These results reveal that the JA signalling pathway plays important roles in the response of sweet potato to salt stress. This study provides insights into the mechanisms and genes involved in the salt tolerance of sweet potato.

Overexpression of CuZnSOD and APX enhance salt stress tolerance in sweet potato

Abiotic stresses cause accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants, CuZnSOD and APX are first line defenses against ROS caused by oxidative stress. In this study, CuZnSOD and APX were transferred into salt sensitive sweet potato (cv. Xushu 55–2) under control of stress inducible SWPA2 promoter and tolerance to salt stress was evaluated. When 100 mM NaCl was used to treat stem cuttings, transgenic plants showed enhanced tolerance compared to wild type (WT) plants. Rooting was significantly retarded in WT plants whereas all transgenic plants had significantly enhanced root growth under salt stress. Integration of SOD gene was confirmed by southern blot analysis, and the copy number ranged from 1 to 3. The expression levels of CuZnSOD and APX in transgenic plants were significantly increased up to 13.3 and 7.8 folds to WT under salinity conditions, respectively. SOD and APX activity and ROS staining showed enzyme activities of transgenic plants were increased under salt stress. These results show that CuZnSOD and APX have important roles in enhancing the salt tolerance of sweet potato.

NaCl-induced changes of ion homeostasis and nitrogen metabolism in two sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) cultivars exhibit different salt tolerance at adventitious root stage

Efficient control of ion homeostasis and nitrogen (N) metabolism contributes to the salt tolerance in crops. However, limited information is available on the contribution of ion homeostasis and N metabolism regulation towards salt tolerance in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) cultivars at adventitious root stage. In this study, NaCl-induced ion homeostasis and N metabolism changes in adventitious roots of two different sweet potato cultivars were investigated. Salt tolerant cultivar (Xushu 22, Xu 22) exhibited better capacity controlling Na+, Cl−, K+ and Mg2+ homeostasis than the salt sensitive cultivar (Xushu Shi 5, Shi 5) under prolonged salinity condition. Net H+ efflux and plasma membrane H+-ATPase gene expression were significantly enhanced in NaCl-stressed Xu 22 roots but not in Shi 5 roots. Salt-upregulated PM H+-ATPase contributed to less K+ efflux in Xu 22 roots. NaCl stimulated Mg2+ uptake in Xu 22 roots under prolonged salinity, but promoted Mg2+ efflux in Shi 5 roots. In addition, NaCl significantly enhanced transcript abundance of genes related to vacuolar Na+ and Cl− sequestration in Xu 22 roots. In Xu 22 roots, NaCl triggered an obvious net NH4+ efflux, which caused a rapid increase of NH4+ concentration around the rhizosphere. Exogenous supply of NH4+ markedly inhibited Na+ influx and K+ efflux under salt shock condition. Moreover, a salt-enhanced NO3− net influx was also detected in mature Xu 22 root region and this process may contributes to the normal N assimilation in this cultivar under prolonged saline condition. Taken together, our results suggest that the better capacities of root K+ and Mg2+ retention, vacuolar Na+ and Cl− sequestration, transition of NH4+/NO3− transport and N assimilation maintenance contribute to the salt tolerance of Xu 22 at adventitious root stage. A model showing salt-adaptive mechanisms in salt-tolerant Xu 22 is proposed.