TY - JOUR
T1 - Increased Drought and Salinity Tolerance in Citrus aurantifolia (Mexican Lemon) Plants Overexpressing Arabidopsis CBF3 Gene
AU - Romero-Romero, Jesús L.
AU - Inostroza-Blancheteau, Claudio
AU - Reyes-Díaz, Marjorie
AU - Matte, Juan Pablo
AU - Aquea, Felipe
AU - Espinoza, Carmen
AU - Gil, Pilar M.
AU - Arce-Johnson, Patricio
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Sociedad Chilena de la Ciencia del Suelo.
PY - 2020/3/1
Y1 - 2020/3/1
N2 - Citrus are a globally important fruit crop. Abiotic stressors such as drought and salinity adversely affect physiological citrus performance and survival. With the aim of improving drought tolerance in citrus plants, we constructed transgenic lines of Citrus lemon overexpressing the Arabidopsis transcription factor CBF3. Molecular, physiological, and quantitative real-time analyses showed high expression of AtCBF3 in three selected transgenic lines. During a 15-day treatment of water deficit by cessation of irrigation, the transgenic lines LM2 and LM14 showed lower stomatal conductance and transpiration paired with lower photosynthesis, whereas transgenic line LM7 maintained its photosynthesis, declining stomatal conductance, and transpiration compared to WT plants, which is manifested into more efficient water use. The genes CsRafS1 and CsGolS1 showed similar or greater expression in one of the transgenic lines with respect to control plants. Moreover, transgenic lines were more tolerant to saline stress and presented a greener phenotype with increased chlorophyll content in leaf discs compared to WT plants. In addition, a lower electrical conductivity in solution was observed in transgenic lines. Furthermore, all transgenic lines exhibited significantly less accumulation of reactive oxygen species than WT plants. Together, these results suggest the potential for heterologous expression of the AtCBF3 gene to mediate tolerance to hydric and saline stress in citrus plants.
AB - Citrus are a globally important fruit crop. Abiotic stressors such as drought and salinity adversely affect physiological citrus performance and survival. With the aim of improving drought tolerance in citrus plants, we constructed transgenic lines of Citrus lemon overexpressing the Arabidopsis transcription factor CBF3. Molecular, physiological, and quantitative real-time analyses showed high expression of AtCBF3 in three selected transgenic lines. During a 15-day treatment of water deficit by cessation of irrigation, the transgenic lines LM2 and LM14 showed lower stomatal conductance and transpiration paired with lower photosynthesis, whereas transgenic line LM7 maintained its photosynthesis, declining stomatal conductance, and transpiration compared to WT plants, which is manifested into more efficient water use. The genes CsRafS1 and CsGolS1 showed similar or greater expression in one of the transgenic lines with respect to control plants. Moreover, transgenic lines were more tolerant to saline stress and presented a greener phenotype with increased chlorophyll content in leaf discs compared to WT plants. In addition, a lower electrical conductivity in solution was observed in transgenic lines. Furthermore, all transgenic lines exhibited significantly less accumulation of reactive oxygen species than WT plants. Together, these results suggest the potential for heterologous expression of the AtCBF3 gene to mediate tolerance to hydric and saline stress in citrus plants.
KW - Abiotic stress
KW - CBF3 transcription factor
KW - Drought tolerance
KW - Transgenics citrus
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85076783407&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s42729-019-00130-y
DO - 10.1007/s42729-019-00130-y
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:85076783407
SN - 0718-9508
VL - 20
SP - 244
EP - 252
JO - Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition
JF - Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition
IS - 1
ER -