Abstract
Background: Trehalose is a nonreducing disaccharide with high stability and strong water absorption properties that can improve the resistance of organisms to various abiotic stresses. Trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) plays important roles in trehalose metabolism and signaling. Results: A full-length cDNA of ThTPS was cloned from Tamarix hispida. The phylogenetic tree among ThTPS and 11 AtTPS in Arabidopsis indicates that the ThTPS protein had a close evolutionary relationship with AtTPS7. However, the function of AtTPS7 has not been determined. To analyze the abiotic stress tolerance function of ThTPS, the expression patterns of ThTPS were monitored under salt and drought stress and JA, ABA and GA3 hormone stimulation in T. hispida by qRT-PCR. The results showed that ThTPS expression was clearly induced by these 5 kinds of treatments at at least one studied point. Particularly under salt stress, ThTPS was highly induced in the roots of T. hispda. Furthermore, the ThTPS gene was transiently overexpressed in T. hispida. The results of physiological indexes and staining showed that overexpression of the ThTPS gene increased T. hispida salt and drought stress tolerance. Conclusion: The ThTPS gene can respond to abiotic stress such as salt and drought, and overexpression of ThTPS gene can significantly improve salt and drought tolerance. These findings establish a foundation to better understand the response of TPS genes to abiotic stress in plants.
COLD SHOCK DOMAIN PROTEIN 3 is involved in salt and drought stress tolerance in Arabidopsis
