Overexpression of AeNHX1, a root-specific vacuolar Na+/H+ antiporter from Agropyron elongatum, confers salt tolerance to Arabidopsis and Festuca plants

Agropyron elongatum, a species in grass family, has a strong tolerance to salt stress. To study the molecular mechanism of Agropyron elongatum in salt tolerance, we isolated a homolog of Na⁺/H⁺ antiporters from the root tissues of Agropyron plants. Sequence analysis revealed that this gene encodes a putative vacuolar Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter and was designated as AeNHX1. The AeNHX1–GFP fusion protein was clearly targeted to the vacuolar membrane in a transient transfection assay. Northern analysis indicated that AeNHX1 was expressed in a root-specific manner. Expression of AeNHX1 in yeast Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter mutants showed function complementation. Further, overexpression of AeNHX1 promoted salt tolerance of Arabidopsis plants, and improved osmotic adjustment and photosynthesis which might be responsible for normal development of transgenic plants under salt stress. Similarly, AeNHX1 also functioned in transgenic Festuca plants. The results suggest that this gene might function in the roots of Agropyron plants, and its expression is involved in the improvement of salt tolerance.