Introduction of the rd29A:AtDREB2A CA gene into soybean (Glycine max L. Merril) and its molecular characterization in leaves and roots during dehydration

The loss of soybean yield to Brazilian producers because of a water deficit in the 2011–2012 season was 12.9%. To reduce such losses, molecular biology techniques, including plant transformation, can be used to insert genes of interest into conventional soybean cultivars to produce lines that are more tolerant to drought. The abscisic acid (ABA)-independent Dehydration Responsive Element Binding (DREB) gene family has been used to obtain plants with increased tolerance to abiotic stresses. In the present study, the rd29A:AtDREB2A CA gene from Arabidopsis thaliana was inserted into soybean using biolistics. Seventy-eight genetically modified (GM) soybean lines containing 2–17 copies of the AtDREB2A CA gene were produced. Two GM soybean lines (P1397 and P2193) were analyzed to assess the differential expression of the AtDREB2A CA transgene in leaves and roots submitted to various dehydration treatments. Both GM lines exhibited high expression of the transgene, with the roots of P2193 showing the highest expression levels during water deficit. Physiological parameters examined during water deficit confirmed the induction of stress. This analysis of AtDREB2A CA expression in GM soybean indicated that line P2193 had the greatest stability and highest expression in roots during water deficit-induced stress.     

Molecular Cloning and Characterization of 9 cDNAs for Genes That Are Responsive to Desiccation in Arabidopsis thaliana: SequenceAnalysis of One cDNA Clone That Encodes a Putative Transmembrane Channel Protein

We isolated nine cDNAs for genes of Arabidopsis thaliana thatare induced by the effects of water deficit by using the techniqueof differential hybridization and named them RD (RD for Responsiveto Desiccation). The timing of induction of their mRNAs variesbetween these RD genes. Abscisic acid induces mRNAs that correspondto clones designated RD22 and RD29 but not to those designatedRD19, RD21 and RD28, indicating that there are several signal-transductionpathways from water stress to expression of RD genes. Sequenceanalysis of the cDNA clone RD28 revealed that RD28 encodes amembrane protein with sequence homology to the majorintrinsicprotein of bovine lens fiber gap junction, soybean nodulin-26and the glycerolfacilitator from Escherichia coli, indicatingthat the putative RD28 protein is a member of the family oftransmembrane channel proteins. (Received October 31, 1991; Accepted January 13, 1992)