Transfer DREB into Lolium perenne L. to improve its drought tolerance

A method of Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation for perennial ryegrass was developed using the calli of ryegrass derived from mature enrbryos. The calli were inoculated with a disarmed A. tumefaciens strain EHA105 harboring binary vector p2328. Vector p2328 contained transcription factor DREB1B and neomycin phosphotransferase （npt H） genes which were driven by promoters of rd29B and CaMV35S, respectively. The inoculated calli were selected on paromomycin- or kanamycin-containing media till the established plants being transferred to soil. Six tmnsgenic plants with DREB1B had been obtained from perennial ryegrass strain Tove. PCR and Southern-blotting showed that npt Ⅱ and DREBIB genes were integrated in perennial ryegrass genome. Stress treatment confirmed that transgenic plants with higher drought tolerance were obtained.

Studies on Genetic Transformation of Fresh-cut Chrysanthemum Using DREB1A Promoted by Stress-induced Promoter rd29A

In this study, DERB1A transcription factor and stress-induced promoter rd29A were isolated respectively and amplified from Arabidopsis thaliana, se- quenced and analyzed by DNAsis. In addition, the stress-induced promoter rd29A was utilized to construct the plant expression vector of DERB1A, which was transformed into Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Furthermore, the transgenic regeneration system of fresh-cut chrysanthemum from callus to plantlets was established successfully. On this basis, chrysanthemum leaf-disc explants were genetically transformed with Agrobacterium-mediated method. Two positive transgenie plantlets were obtained in vitro. Based on PCR detection, DREB1A transcription factor was integrated into chrysanthemum genome, which laid the foundation for breeding new transgenie cultivars of fresh-cut chrysanthemum with high comprehensive stress resistance, good cmalitv and high field.

OsDREB4 Genes in Rice Encode AP2-Containing Proteins that Bind Specifically to the Dehydration-Responsive Element

Most dehydration-responsive element-binding (DREB) factors interact specifically with the dehydration-responsive element (DRE) and control the expression of many stress-inducible genes in Arabidopsis. In rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Lansheng), we cloned three DREB homologs: OsDREB1-1, OsDREB4- 1, and OsDREB4-2. The deduced amino acid sequences revealed that each protein contained a potential nuclear localization signal, an AP2 DNA-binding domain, and a possible acidic activation domain. The yeast one-hybrid assay indicated that both OsDREB4-1 and OsDREB4-2 proteins specifically bound to DRE and activated expression of the dual reporter genes of histidine (HIS3) and galactosidase (LacZ). In rice seedlings,expression of OsDREB4-1 was induced by dehydration and high salt, whereas OsDREB1-1 and OsDREB4-2 were expressed constitutively. Under normal growth conditions, OsDREB1-1 was expressed strongly in the leaf, sheath, and spike, was expressed relatively weak in the stem and only faintly expressed in the roots,whereas expression of transcripts of OsDREB4-1 and OsDREB4-2 was higher in the roots, stem, and spike,lower in the leaf, and undetectable in the sheath. Together, these results imply that expression of the OsDREB genes could be controlled by specific aspects of differentiation or development. Thus, OsDREB4-1 could function as a trans-acting factor in the DRE/DREB regulated stress-responsive pathway.