Expression of Potato StDRO1 in Arabidopsis Alters Root Architecture and Drought Tolerance

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L) is the third important crop for providing calories to a large human population, and is considered sensitive to moderately sensitive to drought stress conditions. The development of drought-tolerant, elite varieties of potato is a challenging task, which can be achieved through molecular breeding. Recently, the DEEPER ROOTING 1 (DRO1) gene has been identified in rice, which influences plant root system and regulates grain yield under drought stress conditions. The potato StDRO1 protein is mainly localized in the plasma membrane of tobacco leaf cells, and overexpression analysis of StDRO1 in Arabidopsis resulted in an increased lateral root number, but decreased lateral root angle, lateral branch angle, and silique angle. Additionally, the drought treatment analysis indicated that StDRO1 regulated drought tolerance and rescued the defective root architecture and drought-tolerant phenotypes of Atdro1, an Arabidopsis AtDRO1 null mutant. Furthermore, StDRO1 expression was significantly higher in the drought-tolerant potato cultivar “Unica” compared to the drought-sensitive cultivar “Atlantic.” The transcriptional response of StDRO1 under drought stress occurred significantly earlier in Unica than in Atlantic. Collectively, the outcome of the present investigation elucidated the role of DRO1 function in the alternation of root architecture, which potentially acts as a key gene in the development of a drought stress-tolerant cultivar. Furthermore, these findings will provide the theoretical basis for molecular breeding of drought-tolerant potato cultivars for the farming community.

Identification and Expression Profile of NCED Genes in Arachis hypogaea L. during Drought Stress

“…This pattern mirrors observations in other plant species, where drought-tolerant cultivars often exhibit lower expression levels than drought-sensitive ones. For example, the StDRO1 gene in potato and the asparagine synthase and AMPD genes in rice display similar trends [39,40]. Due to the identical amino acid sequences in the promoter regions, approximately 300 bp upstream, of AhNCED1/2, AhNCED3/4, and AhNCED6/7, three pairs of similar primers were designed (Table S4).…”

Abiotic Stress in Crop Production

“…However, DRO1 ectopic expression without a stress signal could have a negative impact, even in non-stressed conditions, as has been shown for maize [ 108 ]. The positive effect of root architecture on drought resistance has also been demonstrated in Arabidopsis expressing the StDRO1 gene from potatoes [ 109 ]. These reports suggest that identifying these genes in other crops such as wheat and barley [ 110 ] and breeding focused on root architecture could be fruitful strategies for preserving yields under drought conditions.…”

Evolutionary Analysis of StSnRK2 Family Genes and Their Overexpression in Transgenic Tobacco Improve Drought Tolerance

“…Consequently, research on drought resistance genes and functional identification of potato has become a hot spot in recent years. For instance, the overexpression of StGA2ox1 [ 32 ], StDRO1 [ 33 ], StPIP1 [ 34 ], StRFP2 [ 35 ], StMAPK11 [ 36 ] and StProDH1 [ 37 ] genes has effectively improved the adaptability of transgenic plants to drought stress. However, few studies have been conducted on the function of core genes of the ABA signaling pathway in potato response to drought stress.…”