Abstract
Boron deficiency and toxicity hamper quality and productivity of crops world wide. Arabidopsis thaliana BOR1 is an efflux transporter responsible for effective transport of boron from roots to shoots. Expression of BOR1 in yeasts reduces concentration of cellular boron and improves growth under high boron. To examine if similar improvement can be observed in plants, BOR1 is expressed under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S RNA promoter in A. thaliana. Growth of the transgenic plants under boron excess condition was not significantly different from the non-transgenic plants. This is most likely to be due to degradation of BOR1 protein under high boron supply. Unexpectedly, the growth of transgenic plants under B-limitation was improved significantly. Fertility under limited boron supply was also improved. This method can be used for generation of crop plants for better performance under boron deficient conditions.
