Ectopic expression of GmPAP3 enhances salt tolerance in rice by alleviating oxidative damage

• DOI: 10.1111/pbr.12171
• Publication Date: 2014-03-12T09:51:38Z
• Authors: Lixi Deng; Fen Chen; Liping Jiang; Hon‐Ming Lam; Guoying Xiao
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; 15. Life on land

AbstractGmPAP3, a purple acid phosphatase from soybean (Glycine max), was previously shown to alleviate salt stress in BY‐2 cells and Arabidopsis thaliana by reducing oxidative damage. To make use of GmPAP3 for crop improvement, we investigated whether the protective function of GmPAP3 is persistent in rice. Compared with the untransformed wild type, the transgenic rice plants exhibited enhanced germination rate, longer shoots and roots, and higher survival rate under salt stress, when compared to the untransformed control. In addition, the transgenic plants also showed increased activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), proline content, water content and chlorophyll content, but decreased electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content in leaves. These results indicate that the expression of GmPAP3 could be used to enhance salt tolerance in rice.