Expression of AtSAP5 in cotton up-regulates putative stress-responsive genes and improves the tolerance to rapidly developing water deficit and moderate heat stress

The regulation of gene expression is a key factor in plant acclimation to stress, and it is thought that manipulation of the expression of critical stress-responsive genes should ultimately provide increased protection against abiotic stress. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the ectopic expression of the AtSAP5 (AT3G12630) gene in transgenic cotton (Gossypium hirsutum, cv. Coker 312) will improve tolerance to drought and heat stress by up-regulating the expression of endogenous stress-responsive genes. The SAP5 gene is a member of the stress-associated family of genes that encode proteins containing A20/AN1 zinc finger domains. Under non-stressful conditions, cotton plants that expressed the AtSAP5 gene showed elevated expression of at least four genes normally induced during water deficit or heat stress. The rate of net CO(2) assimilation A for three of four transgenic lines tested was less sensitive to rapidly developing water deficit over 4d than untransformed wild-type plants, but the recovery of A following drought was not significantly affected. The enhanced protection of photosynthesis during drought was determined to be primarily at the biochemical level, since the extent of stomatal closure was not significantly different for all genotypes. Expression of AtSAP5 resulted in the complete protection of photosystem (PS) II complexes from photodamage at mid-day after 4d of drought, whereas wild-type plants experienced a 20% decline in active photosystem II (PSII) complexes. In addition, enhanced protection of seedling growth and leaf viability was associated with the expression of AtSAP5. Since A for the transgenic plants was significantly more heat tolerant than A for wild-type plants, we conclude that ectopic expression of SAP genes is a potentially viable approach to improving carbon gain and productivity for cotton grown in semi-arid regions with severe drought and heat stress.     

The plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa induces changes in Arabidopsis thaliana gene expression: a possible connection between biotic and abiotic stress responses.

This paper addresses changes in plant gene expression induced by inoculation with plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). A gnotobiotic system was established with Arabidopsis thaliana as model plant, and isolates of Paenibacillus polymyxa as PGPR. Subsequent challenge by either the pathogen Erwinia carotovora (biotic stress) or induction of drought (abiotic stress) indicated that inoculated plants were more resistant than control plants. With RNA differential display on parallel RNA preparations from P. polymyxa-treated or untreated plants, changes in gene expression were investigated. From a small number of candidate sequences obtained by this approach, one mRNA segment showed a strong inoculation-dependent increase in abundance. The corresponding gene was identified as ERD15, previously identified to be drought stress responsive. Quantification of mRNA levels of several stress-responsive genes indicated that P. polymyxa induced mild biotic stress. This suggests that genes and/or gene classes associated with plant defenses against abiotic and biotic stress may be co-regulated. Implications of the effects of PGPR on the induction of plant defense pathways are discussed.     

Mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal Lactuca sativa plants exhibit contrasting responses to exogenous ABA during drought stress and recovery

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis enhances plant tolerance to water deficit through the alteration of plant physiology and the expression of plant genes. These changes have been postulated to be caused (among others) by different contents of abscisic acid (ABA) between AM and non-AM plants. However, there are no studies dealing with the effects of exogenous ABA on the expression of stress-related genes and on the physiology of AM plants. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of AM symbiosis and exogenous ABA application on plant development, physiology, and expression of several stress-related genes after both drought and a recovery period. Results show that the application of exogenous ABA had contrasting effects on AM and non-AM plants. Only AM plants fed with exogenous ABA maintained shoot biomass production unaltered by drought stress. The addition of exogenous ABA enhanced considerably the ABA content in shoots of non-AM plants, concomitantly with the expression of the stress marker genes Lsp5cs and Lslea and the gene Lsnced. By contrast, the addition of exogenous ABA decreased the content of ABA in shoots of AM plants and did not produce any further enhancement of the expression of these three genes. AM plants always exhibited higher values of root hydraulic conductivity and reduced transpiration rate under drought stress. From plants subjected to drought, only the AM plants recovered their root hydraulic conductivity completely after the 3 d recovery period. As a whole, the results indicate that AM plants regulate their ABA levels better and faster than non-AM plants, allowing a more adequate balance between leaf transpiration and root water movement during drought and recovery.     

Different classes of proteases are involved in the response to drought of Phaseolus vulgaris L. cultivars differing in sensitivity

Protein breakdown and recycling, which depend on the levels of proteolytic enzymes, are an essential part of the plant response to environmental stress. In order to study changes in the activity of proteases in Phaseolus vulgaris L. subjected to water deficit, three cultivars of European origin that exhibit different degrees of sensitivity to drought were chosen on the basis of changes in water potential, psiw, water and protein contents of leaves during progressive water deficit, and loss of membrane integrity after osmotic stress. Twenty-day-old plants were subjected to water deficit by withholding irrigation. Specific enzyme activities in leaf extracts were determined for plants under different degrees of drought stress using different substrates and protease inhibitors. Proteolytic activities were partially characterized by gel exclusion chromatography. Activities of two of the three identified serine proteinases changed under water deficit. The activity of the one with apparent molecular mass of approximately 65 kDa was observed to increase progressively with increasing withdrawal of water in the more sensitive cultivars, but to decrease in the more resistant cultivar. The same activity was elevated in senescent leaves. Under conditions of severe water deficit, the most sensitive cultivar exhibited a marked increase in the activity of two different aminopeptidases, while the more resistant cultivar showed a significant decrease in the activity of these aminopeptidases. These results point to complex and probably specific roles for different proteases in the plant response to drought.     

Regulation of gene expression by endogenous ABA in tomato plants

In response to water deficit, endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) accumulates in plants. This ABA serves as a signal for a multitude of processes, including regulation of gene expression. ABA accumulated in response to water deficit signals cellular as well as whole plant responses playing a role in the pattern of gene expression throughout the plant. Although the function of genes regulated by ABA during stress are currently poorly understood, a number of these genes may permit the plant to adapt to environmental stress.     

Plant Responses to Drought Stress and Exogenous ABA Application are Modulated Differently by Mycorrhization in Tomato and an ABA-deficient Mutant (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Sitiens</Emphasis>)

The aims of the present study are to find out whether the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis on plant resistance to water deficit are mediated by the endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) content of the host plant and whether the exogenous ABA application modifies such effects. The ABA-deficient tomato mutant sitiens and its near-isogenic wild-type parental line were used. Plant development, physiology, and expression of plant genes expected to be modulated by AM symbiosis, drought, and ABA were studied. Results showed that only wild-type tomato plants responded positively to mycorrhizal inoculation, while AM symbiosis was not observed to have any effect on plant development in sitiens plants grown under well-watered conditions. The application of ABA to sitiens plants enhanced plant growth both under well-watered and drought stress conditions. In respect to sitiens plants subjected to drought stress, the addition of ABA had a cumulative effect in relation to that of inoculation with G. intraradices. Most of the genes analyzed in this study showed different regulation patterns in wild-type and sitiens plants, suggesting that their gene expression is modulated by the plant ABA phenotype. In the same way, the colonization of roots with the AM fungus G. intraradices differently regulated the expression of these genes in wild-type and in sitiens plants, which could explain the distinctive effect of the symbiosis on each plant ABA phenotype. This also suggests that the effects of the AM symbiosis on plant responses and resistance to water deficit are mediated by the plant ABA phenotype.