The Arabidopsis malonyl-CoA synthetase gene AAE13.1 (AtAAE13.1) plays important roles in cell metabolism, plant growth and development, and environmental stress responses. However, function of AtAAE13.1 in NaCl stress tolerance is not determined yet. Cell suspension cultures of different plant species including rice (Oryza sativa L.), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), and white pine (Pinus strobus L.) were transformed using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain GV3101 harboring pBI-AtAAE13.1. After confirmation of integration of the AtAAE13.1 gene into the genome by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Southern and northern blot analyses, NaCl stress tolerance was examined in AtAAE13.1 transgenic cells of O. sativa, G. hirsutum, and P. strobus. AtAAE13.1 expression enhanced NaCl stress tolerance by increasing cell viability and growth rate, decreasing lipid peroxidation, increasing the oxidation rate, and elevating the content of amino acids, glycolate, and phosphoglycolate, as well as elevating the amount of sucrose, glucose, and fructose. In rice cells, AtAAE13.1 elevated expression of the Ca2+-dependent protein kinase (CPK) genes under NaCl stress. Overexpression of the AtAAE13.1 gene may be useful for engineering NaCl stress tolerance in different plant species.
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