Transgenic Arabidopsis Plants Expressing Tomato Glutathione S-Transferase Showed Enhanced Resistance to Salt and Drought Stress

Abstract

Although glutathione S-transferases (GST, EC 2.5.1.18) are involved in response to abiotic stress, limited information is available regarding gene function in tomato. In this study, a GST gene from tomato, designated LeGSTU2, was cloned and functionally characterized. Expression profile analysis results showed that it was expressed in roots and flowers, and the transcription was induced by salt, osmotic, and heat stress. The gene was then introduced to Arabidopsis by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants were normal in terms of growth and maturity compared with wild-type plants. Transgenic plants also showed an enhanced resistance to salt and osmotic stress induced by NaCl and mannitol. The increased tolerance of transgenic plants was correlated with the changes in proline, malondialdehyde and antioxidative emzymes activities. Our results indicated that the gene from tomato plays a positive role in improving tolerance to salinity and drought stresses in Arabidopsis.

Unraveling the Root Proteome Changes and Its Relationship to Molecular Mechanism Underlying Salt Stress Response in Radish (Raphanus sativus L.)

“…Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are known as a family of well-characterized detoxification enzymes implicated in stress tolerance. Up-accumulation of GSTs in transgenic studies in rice (Takesawa et al, 2002) and tomato (Xu et al, 2015b) exhibited increased capability to harsh conditions such as low temperature, salt stress and drought. Our proteomic results showed that seven out of nine GSTs were found to be significantly up-accumulated by salt treatment, implying their significant roles in response to salt stress.…”

Drought-Responsive Mechanisms in Plant Leaves Revealed by Proteomics

“…GPX catalyzes the reduction of H 2 O 2 using Trx [150], and GST catalyzes conjugation reactions between GSH and a number of xenobiotics, playing a crucial role in the degradation of toxic substances. Previous studies have reported that overexpression of the GST gene enhanced drought tolerance in tobacco [151,152] and Arabidopsis [153]. Similarly, overexpression of P .…”

Alleviation of Drought Stress in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> by 17<i>β</i>-Estradiol Application

“…The treatments may have primed the plants for increased tolerance as the non-stressed plants displayed elevated expression of GSTU3 when compared to the other treatments. The glutathione S-transferase enzymes play an important role in plant stress resistance as they facilitate the binding of GSH to xenobiotic substrates [35] [36]. Transgenic expression of a tomato GST, LeGSTU2, resulted in enhanced drought stress tolerance in Arabidopsis [36].…”

“…The glutathione S-transferase enzymes play an important role in plant stress resistance as they facilitate the binding of GSH to xenobiotic substrates [35] [36]. Transgenic expression of a tomato GST, LeGSTU2, resulted in enhanced drought stress tolerance in Arabidopsis [36]. GSTU3 displays increased expression in response to abiotic stress conditions [37].…”