Abstract
Trehalose is known as an important protectant against environmental stresses in microorganisms. Low level accumulation of trehalose is found in higher plants suggests that it has a different function in plants. Here, we constructed transgenic rice plants overexpressing OsTPP1 encoding a trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase for trehalose biosynthesis, and the phenotype of the transgenic lines were characterized. According to the sugar analysis, OsTPP1-overexpressed lines accumulated 3 to 6 times higher levels of the trehalose, which comes with a large increase in glucose and fructose levels. The OsTPP1 overexpressors showed an ABA-hypersensitive phenotype in root growth. Therefore, it was suggested that OsTPP1 was involved in sugar metabolism and ABA signaling through accumulation of trehalose or reduction of the precursor (Tre6P).
