Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic heavy metals for plant growth in soil. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters play important roles in biotic and abiotic stresses. However, few ABC transporters have been characterized in poplar. In this study, we isolated an ABC transporter gene PtoABCG36 from Populus tomentosa. The PtoABCG36 transcript can be detected in leaves, stems and roots, and the expression in the root was 3.8 and 2 times that in stems and leaves, respectively. The PtoABCG36 expression was induced and peaked at 12 h after exposure to Cd stress. Transient expression of PtoABCG36 in tobacco showed that PtoABCG36 is localized at the plasma membrane. When overexpressed in yeast and Arabidopsis, PtoABCG36 could decrease Cd accumulation and confer higher Cd tolerance in transgenic lines than in wild-type (WT) lines. Net Cd2+ efflux measurements showed a decreasing Cd uptake in transgenic Arabidopsis roots than WT. These results demonstrated that PtoABCG36 functions as a cadmium extrusion pump participating in enhancing tolerance to Cd through decreasing Cd content in plants, which provides a promising way for making heavy metal tolerant poplar by manipulating ABC transporters in cadmium polluted areas.

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Bletilla striata (Thunb.), an ornamental and medicinal plant, is on the list of endangered plants in China. Its pseudobulb is abundant in polysaccharide and has been used for centuries as a herbal remedy. However, a recent rise in demand has placed it at risk of extinction, and therefore, research on its propagation and genetic improvement is essential. Since polyploids tend to possess advantageous qualities, we incubated B. striata seeds with colchicine with the aim of creating tetraploid plantlets. Aseptic seeds treated with 0.1% colchicine for 7 days showed the highest tetraploid induction rate of 40.67 ± 0.89%. Compared with the wild-type, the tetraploids could be identified by their morphological characteristics including larger stomata at a lower density, larger leaf blades, and a thicker petiole. Contents of polysaccharide and phenolic compounds were also determined in the tetraploid pseudobulbs, revealing significantly higher values than in the wild-type. In vitro colchicine treatment can therefore be used to successfully produce B. striata tetraploids with superior pseudobulbs.

Peroxisome is one of the important organelles for intracellular lipid metabolism in plant cells and β-oxidation of fatty acids in peroxisomes provides the energy for oil-containing seed germination. In this study, we identified an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter gene, GmABCA7 from soybean, which is highly expressed in the different developmental stages of seeds. Transient expression of GmABCA7 in tobacco epidermal cells showed that GmABCA7 was specifically localized at the peroxisomes. Overexpression of GmABCA7 in Arabidopsis does not change seed phenotypes, or the overall levels of lipid, protein and sugar stored in the seeds; however, the transgenic seeds produced more gluconeogenic pathway precursors such as succinate and malate and germinated earlier compared to the wild type seeds. These results suggest that GmABCA7 may affect the β-oxidation of fatty acids and play an important role in seed germination.

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