CYTOLOGIA
Online ISSN : 1348-7019
Print ISSN : 0011-4545
The Overexpression of Cyanidioschyzon merolae S-adenosylmethionine Synthetase Enhances Salt Tolerance in Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana
Takayuki SakajiriKeita AsanoShunsuke HirookaMio OhnumaOsami MisumiMasaki YoshidaTakayuki FujiwaraSatoshi DoiHaruko KuroiwaTsuneyoshi Kuroiwa
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JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

2010 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 341-352

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Abstract

High salinity is one of the most serious threats to crop production. The primitive red alga, Cyanidioschyzon merolae, inhabits an extreme environment (42°C, pH 2.5, high salt, metal ion). We have utilized the ability of C. merolae cells to adapt to 0.3 M sodium salt, as well as information from its fully sequenced genome, to produce salt-tolerant transgenic higher plants. To reveal the mechanisms of high salt tolerance, we analyzed, by RT-PCR, genes that were expressed at high levels after salt stress (0.3 M NaCl). The C. merolae S-adenosylmethionine synthetase (CmSAMS) gene that codes for an enzyme in the polyamine biosynthesis pathway was expressed at high levels (4 to 5 expression ratio). Our results are in accordance with our previously reported DNA microarray data. The CmSAMS gene codes for a 393-aa protein contain 3 conserved domains at the N-terminal and a semi-conserved domain at the C-terminal. The particle bombardment method revealed that the recombinant CmSAMS-green fluorescent protein was localized in the cytoplasm and the nuclei of the plant cells. To further investigate tolerance to salt stress, we produced, by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, 4 transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plant lines expressing CmSAMS. Compared to wild-type plants, the CmSAMS transgenic plants were more tolerant to salt stress, clearly defining a role for the CmSAMS gene in conferring salt-stress tolerance.

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© (2010), The Japan Mendel Society
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