Detoxification potential and expression analysis of eutypine reducing aldehyde reductase (VrALR) during progressive drought and recovery in Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek roots

Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants is an inevitable consequence of adverse environmental cues and the ability to detoxify deleterious by-products of ROS-mediated oxidation reactions reflect an important defence strategy to combat abiotic stress. Here, we have cloned the eutypine reducing aldehyde reductase gene (VrALR) from Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek roots. We have expressed and purified the VrALR protein and analyzed its enzyme kinetic parameters and catalytic efficiency with three different substrates to confirm its identity. The functional characterization of this enzyme was unravelled through heterologous expression of the gene in Escherichia coli BL21 and an oxidative stress-sensitive Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant strain, W3O3-1-A. Finally, the endogenous VrALR enzyme activity and the mRNA expression patterns of the VrALR gene in the roots of V. radiata in response to progressive drought stress in vivo was studied to correlate the ROS-detoxifying role of this important enzyme under the influence of progressive drought stress. Our results, for the first time, demonstrate that eutypine reducing VrALR provides varying degree of stress tolerance in bacteria, yeast systems and also plays a promising protective role against oxidative stress in V. radiata roots during gradual water deprivation. The present study provides an unequivocal evidence to understand the crucial role of aldehyde reductase ROS-detoxifying system which is highly essential for developing stress tolerance in economically important crop plants.