Overexpression of GsGSTU13 and SCMRP in Medicago sativa confers increased salt–alkaline tolerance and methionine content

Abstract

Tau-class glutathione S-transferases (GSTUs) are ubiquitous proteins encoded by a large gene family in plants, which play important roles in combating different environmental stresses. In previous studies, we constructed a Glycine soja transcriptional profile, and identified three GSTUs (GsGSTU13, GsGSTU14 and GsGSTU19) as potential salt-alkaline stress-responsive genes. Two of them, GsGSTU14 and GsGSTU19, have been shown to positively regulate plant salt-alkaline tolerance. In this study, we further demonstrated the positive function of GsGSTU13 in plant salt-alkaline stress responses by overexpressing it in Medicago sativa. Stress tolerance tests suggested that GsGSTU13 transgenic lines showed better growth and physiological indicators than wild alfalfa (cv. Zhaodong) under alkaline stress. Considering the shortage of methionine in alfalfa, we then co-transformed GsGSTU13 into two main alfalfa cultivars in Heilongjiang Province (cv. Zhaodong and cv. Nongjing No. 1) together with SCMRP, a synthesized gene that could improve the methionine content. We found that GsGSTU13/SCMRP transgenic alfalfa displayed not only higher methionine content but also higher tolerance to alkaline and salt stresses, respectively. Taken together, our results demonstrate that GsGSTU13 acts as a positive regulator in plant responses to salt and alkaline stresses, and can be used as a good candidate for generation of salt-alkaline tolerant crops.

Compensation of Mutation in Arabidopsis glutathione transferase (AtGSTU) Genes under Control or Salt Stress Conditions

“…Tau class Arabidopsis GSTs can be divided into three separate clades using phylogenetic methods [5], but the importance of this differentiation is still unknown. Several studies describe the role of GSTUs in detoxification processes [20][21][22] and plants overexpressing GSTU genes have enhanced stress resistance [23][24][25]. Almost all of the Arabidopsis GSTUs have been found to selectively bind fatty acid derivatives and some of the isoenzymes are induced by abiotic stresses or play a role in signalling [2].…”

Improved iron acquisition ofAstragalus sinicusunder low iron-availability conditions by soil-borne bacteriaBurkholderia cepacia

“…However, alkaline soils become the major constraints to the distribution and biomass of crop in agriculture Jia et al 2015). Recently, soilborne bacteria Burkholderia cepacia has been attracted considerable attentions due to its diverse roles such as enhancement of nutrient use efficiency and control of fungal infection in host plants (Singh et al 2013;Zhao et al 2014;Ghosh et al 2016).…”

GsSLAH3, a Glycine soja slow type anion channel homolog, positively modulates plant bicarbonate stress tolerance

“…Glycine soja is a typical salt and alkali resistant species and is thus an ideal material for plant alkaline tolerance studies (DuanMu et al , Jia et al , Sun et al ). Through the application of high throughput RNA sequencing technique, our laboratory sequenced the transcriptome of G. soja roots subjected to NaHCO 3 stress.…”