Overexpression of a soybean expansin gene, GmEXP1, improvesdrought tolerance in transgenic tobacco

Authors

THANH SON LO
HOANG DUC LE
VU THANH THANH NGUYEN
HOANG HA CHU
VAN SON LE
HOANG MAU CHU

DOI

10.3906/bot-1502-40

Abstract

The EXP1 gene encodes expansin, which has the ability to loosen the plant cell wall. The soybean expansin gene GmEXP1 is activated specifically during the root elongation process, and thus it plays important roles in root development. During the drought period, changes in pressure within the cell and the fast development of the root allow plants to collect water from deep soil, which in turn helps plants grow and develop. In this study, we have successfully cloned and generated a GmEXP1 construct expressing recombinant expansin protein in tobacco plants. GmEXP1 is expressed in transgenic tobacco plants and passed on to the next generation. The transgenic tobacco plants have improved drought tolerance, which is demonstrated in both the length and volume of roots. From these promising results, we applied the same approach to generate drought-tolerant plants.

Keywords

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, expansin, GmEXP1 gene, loosening of cell wall, root elongation, soybean

First Page

988

Last Page

995

Recommended Citation

LO, THANH SON; LE, HOANG DUC; NGUYEN, VU THANH THANH; CHU, HOANG HA; LE, VAN SON; and CHU, HOANG MAU (2015) "Overexpression of a soybean expansin gene, GmEXP1, improvesdrought tolerance in transgenic tobacco," Turkish Journal of Botany: Vol. 39: No. 6, Article 10. https://doi.org/10.3906/bot-1502-40
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/botany/vol39/iss6/10