Maize is one of the most important crops worldwide, but it suffers from salt stress when grown in saline-alkaline soil. There is therefore an urgent need to improve maize salt tolerance and crop yield. In this study, ...Maize is one of the most important crops worldwide, but it suffers from salt stress when grown in saline-alkaline soil. There is therefore an urgent need to improve maize salt tolerance and crop yield. In this study, the SsNHX1 gene of Suaeda salsa, which encodes a vacuolar membrane Na~+/H~+ antiporter, was transformed into the maize inbred line 18-599 by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transgenic maize plants overexpressing the SsNHX1 gene showed less growth retardation when treated with an increasing NaCl gradient of up to 1%, indicating enhanced salt tolerance. The improved salt tolerance of transgenic plants was also demonstrated by a significantly elevated seed germination rate(79%) and a reduction in seminal root length inhibition. Moreover, transgenic plants under salt stress exhibited less physiological damage. SsNHX1-overexpressing transgenic maize accumulated more Na~+ and K~+ than wild-type(WT) plants particularly in the leaves, resulting in a higher ratio of K~+/Na~+ in the leaves under salt stress. This result revealed that the improved salt tolerance of SsNHX1-overexpressing transgenic maize plants was likely attributed to SsNHX1-mediated localization of Na~+ to vacuoles and subsequent maintenance of the cytosolic ionic balance. In addition, SsNHX1 overexpression also improved the drought tolerance of the transgenic maize plants, as rehydrated transgenic plants were restored to normal growth while WT plants did not grow normally after dehydration treatment. Therefore, based on our engineering approach, SsNHX1 represents a promising candidate gene for improving the salt and drought tolerance of maize and other crops.展开更多
Plant metabolites are dynamically modified and distributed in response to environmental changes.How-ever,it is poorly understood how metabolic change functions in plant stress responses.Maintaining ion ho-meostasis un...Plant metabolites are dynamically modified and distributed in response to environmental changes.How-ever,it is poorly understood how metabolic change functions in plant stress responses.Maintaining ion ho-meostasis under salt stress requires coordinated activation of two types of central regulators:plasma membrane(PM)H^(+)-ATPase and Na^(+)/H^(+) antiporter.In this study,we used a bioassay-guided isolation approach to identify endogenous small molecules that affect PM H^(+)-ATPase and Na^(+)/H^(+) antiporter activities and identified phosphatidylinositol(PI),which inhibits PM H^(+)-ATPase activity under non-stress conditions in Arabidopsis by directly binding to the C terminus of the PM H^(+)-ATPase AHA2.Under salt stress,the phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate-to-phosphatidylinositol(PI4P-to-PI)ratio increased,and PI4P bound and activated the PM Na^(+)/H^(+) antiporter.PI prefers binding to the inactive form of PM H^(+)-ATPase,while PI4P tends to bind to the active form of the Na^(+)/H^(+) antiporter.Consistent with this,pis1 mutants,with reduced levels of PI,displayed increased PM H^(+)-ATPase activity and salt stress toler-ance,while the pi4kβ1 mutant,with reduced levels of PI4P,displayed reduced PM Na^(+)/H^(+) antiporter activity and salt stress tolerance.Collectively,our results reveal that the dynamic change between PI and PI4P in response to salt stress in Arabidopsis is crucial for maintaining ion homeostasis to protect plants from un-favorable environmental conditions.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31561143014,30800687,31071434,and 31522041)the Major Project of Education Department of Sichuan Province,China(15ZA0022)
文摘Maize is one of the most important crops worldwide, but it suffers from salt stress when grown in saline-alkaline soil. There is therefore an urgent need to improve maize salt tolerance and crop yield. In this study, the SsNHX1 gene of Suaeda salsa, which encodes a vacuolar membrane Na~+/H~+ antiporter, was transformed into the maize inbred line 18-599 by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transgenic maize plants overexpressing the SsNHX1 gene showed less growth retardation when treated with an increasing NaCl gradient of up to 1%, indicating enhanced salt tolerance. The improved salt tolerance of transgenic plants was also demonstrated by a significantly elevated seed germination rate(79%) and a reduction in seminal root length inhibition. Moreover, transgenic plants under salt stress exhibited less physiological damage. SsNHX1-overexpressing transgenic maize accumulated more Na~+ and K~+ than wild-type(WT) plants particularly in the leaves, resulting in a higher ratio of K~+/Na~+ in the leaves under salt stress. This result revealed that the improved salt tolerance of SsNHX1-overexpressing transgenic maize plants was likely attributed to SsNHX1-mediated localization of Na~+ to vacuoles and subsequent maintenance of the cytosolic ionic balance. In addition, SsNHX1 overexpression also improved the drought tolerance of the transgenic maize plants, as rehydrated transgenic plants were restored to normal growth while WT plants did not grow normally after dehydration treatment. Therefore, based on our engineering approach, SsNHX1 represents a promising candidate gene for improving the salt and drought tolerance of maize and other crops.
基金supported by grants ofrom the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31430012,31872659,32070301,U1706201,31921001,31861133005,21625201,21961142010,21661140001,91853202,and 21521003)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2017YFA0505200)the Beijing Outstanding Young Scientist Program(BJJWZYJH01201910001001).
文摘Plant metabolites are dynamically modified and distributed in response to environmental changes.How-ever,it is poorly understood how metabolic change functions in plant stress responses.Maintaining ion ho-meostasis under salt stress requires coordinated activation of two types of central regulators:plasma membrane(PM)H^(+)-ATPase and Na^(+)/H^(+) antiporter.In this study,we used a bioassay-guided isolation approach to identify endogenous small molecules that affect PM H^(+)-ATPase and Na^(+)/H^(+) antiporter activities and identified phosphatidylinositol(PI),which inhibits PM H^(+)-ATPase activity under non-stress conditions in Arabidopsis by directly binding to the C terminus of the PM H^(+)-ATPase AHA2.Under salt stress,the phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate-to-phosphatidylinositol(PI4P-to-PI)ratio increased,and PI4P bound and activated the PM Na^(+)/H^(+) antiporter.PI prefers binding to the inactive form of PM H^(+)-ATPase,while PI4P tends to bind to the active form of the Na^(+)/H^(+) antiporter.Consistent with this,pis1 mutants,with reduced levels of PI,displayed increased PM H^(+)-ATPase activity and salt stress toler-ance,while the pi4kβ1 mutant,with reduced levels of PI4P,displayed reduced PM Na^(+)/H^(+) antiporter activity and salt stress tolerance.Collectively,our results reveal that the dynamic change between PI and PI4P in response to salt stress in Arabidopsis is crucial for maintaining ion homeostasis to protect plants from un-favorable environmental conditions.
