A soybean GmDREB3 gene contributes to drought tolerance in wheat

GmDREB3 greatly increased drought tolerance in wheat plants along with improved physiological and agronomic traits and grain yield AbstractDREB transcription factor can significantly improve the plant resistance to drought, high salt, low temperature, high temperature, and other abiotic stress. A previous study showed that DREB transcription factor geneGmDREB3 from soybean can improve drought resistance in tobacco, however, whether it can improve drought resistance in wheat needs to be further investigated. In the present study,GmDREB3 was transferred to a wheat variety, Shi366 and two positive lines of the T5 generation were obtained by additive culture and molecular identification.GmDREB3-OE (overexpression) lines conferred drought tolerance characteristics, including higher survival rates, lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content, lower relative conductivity, higher chlorophyll content, and higher proline content than Shi366 wheat plants under drought stress. TheSPAD,Fv/Fm, panicle number, and grain yield ofGmDREB3-OE lines were increased but the transpiration rate was decreased, compared to the Shi366 plants in the field condition under drought stress. Significant differences in the stress indices were observed between theGmDREB3–OE lines and Shi366 wheat plants, which suggested that theGmDREB3 significantly improved wheat tolerance to drought stress. In addition, RT-qPCR analysis indicated thatGmDREB3 could enhance the expression of drought-related genes in wheat. Therefore...
Source: Food and Energy Security - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research