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Overexpression of tomato GDP-l-galactose phosphorylase gene in tobacco improves tolerance to chilling stress

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Abstract

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The overexpression of tomato GDP- l -galactose phosphorylase gene enhanced tolerance to chilling stress and reduced photoinhibition of photosystems I and II in transgenic tobacco.

Abstract

Chilling stress is a crucial factor that limits the geographical distribution and yield of chilling-sensitive plants. Ascorbate (AsA) protects plants by scavenging reactive oxygen species and reduces photoinhibition by promoting the conversion of violaxanthin to zeaxanthin in the xanthophyll cycle to dissipate excess excitation energy. Possible mechanisms of AsA for plant photoprotection under chilling stress were investigated by isolating the tomato GDP-l-galactose phosphorylase gene (SlGGP) and producing transgenic tobacco plants with overexpression of SlGGP. The transgenic plants subjected to chilling stress accumulated less H2O2, demonstrated lower levels of ion leakage and malondialdehyde, and acquired higher net photosynthetic rate, higher maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII, and higher D1 protein content compared with the wild-type (WT) plants. The transgenic plants subjected to chilling stress also showed higher GDP-l-galactose phosphorylase activity, increased AsA content as well as ascorbate peroxidase and oxidizable P700 activities than WT plants. Thus, SlGGP overexpression is crucial in promoting AsA synthesis and alleviating photoinhibition of two photosystems.

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Abbreviations

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

AsA:

Ascorbate

DAB:

Diaminobenzidin

DHA:

Dehydroascorbate

ELISA:

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Fv/Fm:

The maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII

GGP:

GDP-l-galactose phosphorylase

IPTG:

Isopropyl β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside

NBT:

Nitroblue tetrazolium

PFD:

Photon flux density

Pn:

The net photosynthetic rate

PVDF:

Polyvinylidene fluoride

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

TBA:

Thiobarbituric acid

WT:

Wild type

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (31171474, 31371553), Science and technology project of higher education of Shandong Province (J13LE12), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, China (ZR2013CL006).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Science, Dezhou University, Dezhou, 253023, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Liyan Wang

  2. Colleges of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Liyan Wang, Xia Meng, Dongyue Yang, Nana Ma, Guodong Wang & Qingwei Meng

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  1. Liyan Wang
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  2. Xia Meng
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  3. Dongyue Yang
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  4. Nana Ma
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  5. Guodong Wang
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  6. Qingwei Meng
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qingwei Meng.

Additional information

Communicated by K. Toriyama.

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Wang, L., Meng, X., Yang, D. et al. Overexpression of tomato GDP-l-galactose phosphorylase gene in tobacco improves tolerance to chilling stress. Plant Cell Rep 33, 1441–1451 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-014-1627-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-014-1627-2

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