The effect of thaumatin gene overexpression on the properties of H+-ATPase from the plasmalemma of potato tuber cells

The introduction of the thaumatin gene into potato plants was accompanied by a decrease in the activity of H⁺-ATPase in the plasmalemma (PL) of tuber cells. When tubers were released from dormancy, the enzyme was activated in the tuber cells of both the original and transgenic plants. Experiments performed in vitro demonstrated that sensitivities to ambiol (AM) and jasmonic acid (JA) of H⁺-ATPase in the PL of tubers from the original plants were lower after the release from a period of deep dormancy. In preparations from the tubers of transgenic plants, the situation was reversed. The differences between the activities of H⁺-ATPase in the PL preparations produced from the original and transgenic tubers that sprouted under the action of AM and JA were detected. Thus, the overexpression of the thaumatin gene in potato plants changed the properties of H⁺-ATPase from PL.