Plant Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses in Agriculture: Role of Genetic Engineering

356 Pages·2000·18.4 MB·English

by  Eva Czarnecka-Vemer

Plant Tolerance to Abiotic Stresses in Agriculture:
Role of Genetic Engineering
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Series 3. High Technology - Vol. 83
Plant Tolerance to Abiotic
Stresses in Agriculture:
Role of Genetic Engineering
edited by
Joe H. Cherry
Robert D. Locy
Department of Biological Sciences,
Auburn University,
Auburn, Alabama, U.SA
and
Anna Rychter
Institute of Experimental Plant Biology,
University of Warsaw,
Warsaw, Poland
.....
"
Springer-Science+Business Media, B.V.
Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on
PlantTolerance to Abiotic Stresses in Agriculture: Role of Genetic Engineering
Mragowo, Poland
13-18 June 1999
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-7923-6567-9 ISBN 978-94-011-4323-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-4323-3
Printed an acid-free paper
AII Rights Reserved
© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2000
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 2000
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the
copyright owner.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface lX
Organizers and Organizing Committee Xlll
Chapter I
HIGH TEMPERATURE STRESS
CHAIR -Joe H. Cherry
Functional Specializati9n of Plant Class A and B HSFs 3
E. Czarnecka-Verner, S. Pan, C-X Yuan and w: B. Gurley
The Arabidopsis TCH Genes: Regulated in Expression by Mechanotransduction? 29
J. Braam
The Regulation of GABA Accumulation by Heat Stress in Arabidopsis 39
R. D. Locy, S-J. Wu, J. Bisnette, T. w: Barger, D. McNabb, M Zik, H. Fromm,
NK. Singh and J.H Cherry
GABA Increases the Rate of Nitrate Uptake and Utilizationn in Arabidopsis Roots 53
J. M Barbosa, R.D. Locy, T. w: Barger, NK. Singh and J.H Cherry
Chapter II
LOW TEMPERATURE STRESS
CHAIR -Rajinder Dhindsa
MAP Kinases in Plant Signal Transduction: Versatile Tools for Signaling Stress, 67
Cell Cycle, and More
C. Jonak, S. Kiegerl, w: Ligterink, C. Siligall, E. Baudouin, J. Beyeriy,
F. Cardinale, C. Hausl, K. Zwerger, I Meskiene, and H. Hirt
The Second Stage of Plant Acclimation to Low Temperatures: the Forgotten Step 81
in Frost Hardening?
A. Kacperska
Genetic Engineering of Biosynthesis of Glycinebetaine Enhances Tolerance to 95
Various Stress
A. Sakamoto, H Hayashi, A. Tony, HH Chell and N Murata
vi
Chapter III
SALINITY STRESS
CHAIR -Paul Mike Hasegawa
Salt Tolerance at the Whole-Plant Level 107
A.R. Yeo, M.L. Koyama, S. Chinta and T.J. Flowers
Plant Homologues to the Yeast Halotolerance Gene HAL3 125
A. Espinosa-Ruiz, M. C. Cutanda, C. Romero, C. Cortina, C. Aguado,
J.M. Belles, R. Serrano and F.A. Culiaiiez-Macid
Novel Determinants of Salinity Tolerance 131
NK. Singh, S. G. Mundree, and R.D. Locy
Progress and Prospects in Engineering Crops for Osmoprotectant Synthesis 139
B. Rathinasabapathi
Chapter IV
DROUGHT STRESS
CHAIR -Monserrat Pages
Plant AP2/EREBP and bZIP Transcription Factors: Structure and Function 157
C. Nieva, D. Kizis, A. Goday, V. Lumbreras and M. Pages
Role of Arabidopsis MYB Transcription Factors in Osmotic Stress 181
E. Cominelli, G. Gusmaroli, L. Conti, D. Allegra, K. Petroni and C. Tonelli
Gene Expression During Dehydration in the Resurrection Plant Craterostigma 195
plantagineum
J.R. Phillips and D. Bartels
Some Physiological and Molecular Insights into the Mechanisms of Desiccation 201
Tolerance in the Resurrection Plant Xerophyta viscosa Baker
S. G. Mundree and J.M. Farrant '1
Targets of Modifying Plant Growth and Development by ABA-mediated Signaling 223
A. Himmelbach, G. Benning T. Hoffmann, and E. Grill
vii
Chapter V
SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION
CHAIR -1.K. ZHU
Positional Cloning of A Plant Salt Tolerance Gene 235
L. Xiong, J. Liu, B. Stevenson, and J-K. Zhu
Regulation of Ion Homeostasis in Plants and Fungi 255
J.M. Pardo, I. Mendoza and FJ. Quintero
Adh as a Model for Analysis of the Integration of Stress Respone Regulation in Plants 269
M. Dolan-O 'Keefe and R.J. Ferl
Sense and Sensibility: Inositol Phospholipids as Mediators of Abiotic Stress 285
Responses
I. Heilmann, I. Y. Perera, J.M. Stevenson and WF Boss
Chapter VI
OXIDATIVE AND HEAVY METAL STRESS
CHAIR -Anna M. Rychter
Manipulation of Glutathione and Ascorbate Metabolism in Plants 299
G.M. Pastori and CH. Foyer
Cadmium Toxicity in Leaf Peroxisomes from Pea Plants: Effect on the Activated Oxygen 315
Metabolism Proteolytic Activity
L.A. del Rio, L.M. Sandalio, J.M. Palma, FJ. Corpas, M. Gomez,
I. McCarthy and M.C Romero-Puertas
Metal-Chelate Reductases and "Plant MT's" 329
N J. Robinson and Sadjuga
Evolutionary Responses to Zinc and Copper Stress in Bladder Campion, Silene 343
Vulgaris(Moench.) Garcke
H. Schat, NA.L.M. van Hoof, A. Tervahauta, H. WJ. Hakvoort,
A.N Chardonnens, P.L.M. Koevoets, J.A.C Verkleij and WH.o. Ernst
PREFACE
Environmental stresses represent the most limiting factors for agricultural productivity
worldwide. These stresses impact not only crops which are presently being cultivated, but
are also significant barriers to the introduction of crop plants into areas which are not at
this time being used for agriculture. Stresses associated with temperature, salinity and
drought, singly or in combination, are likely to enhance the severity of these problems to
which plants will be exposed to in the coming decades.
Already, intensive irrigation in agriculture production has resulted in severe salinity
problems in the USA, Israel and other countries. Furthermore, in the USA and several
developing countries, major problems relating to drought, high and low temperatures, and
are already limiting agricultural productivity.
With the development of molecular biology tools, the mechanisms of plant adaptation to
these stresses are being elucidated at a level which was impossible only a few years ago. In
all of the stresses, high or low temperature, drought, and salinity, genes have recently been
identified which are involved in the adaptation process. In addition, it is being recognized
that some responses to one stress will help protect against another stress, and we now
know that plants may have more than one method of coping with a stress.
The use of transgenic plants to over express or silence these genes is a powerful tool in
determining if they are necessary or sufficient to induce stress tolerance in a particular
plant. In the past few years, an increased understanding of molecular biology through the
use of trans genetic plants has resulted in a vast increase in the understanding of the roles
that these genes play in stress tolerance.
The objective of the planned workshop in Mragowo, Poland was to bring together
scientists from many laboratories to discuss and compare the current knowledge of the
role stress genes play in plant stress tolerance. Much of the discussions at the NATO
Advanced Research Workshop focused on various strategies to introduce genes, and the
processes which they encode, into economically important crops, and the effect this will
have upon plant productivity.
It was pointed out that classical genetic methods based on crosses and selection schemes
have made enormous contributions towards stress-related crop improvement, tolerance to
stress is generally considered a quantitative trait, and it is difficult to isolate specific genes
involved in stress tolerance.
The isolation of single genes and the possibility of testing these genes in a new genetic
context can be accomplished by molecular genetics. Different strategies can be adapted by
molecular biologists to reveal the basic parameters of stress tolerance. One strategy is to
take a tolerant plant and ask which molecules are the basis for tolerance. Using this
method, an array of stress-induced genes have been isolated. A second strategy is to take
ix
x
non-tolerant plants and transform them with given genes and assess the effect of these
genes on stress tolerance. A crucial point in this procedure is the selection of the genes
used for transformation, and this is where the two strategies overlap. The genes can also
come from several sources such as animals, bacteria or yeast.
In studying water stress, a number of transcripts which accumulate after the onset of
desiccation or following abscisic acid treatment have been isolated. The majority of these
genes encode polypeptides closely related to proteins abundantly induced during seed
development, called LEA Oate embryogenesis abundant) genes. Three single genes
encoding specific LEA proteins were transformed into tobacco, but the transgenic tobacco
plants did not show an altered phenotype. This, however, is not surprising since in drought
tolerant plants a number of proteins are present simultaneously.
An altered phenotype may be expected from identifying and manipulating a gene which
will regulate several dehydration responsive genes. This approach of altering a regulatory
gene has been tried for heat tolerance. The heat shock transcription factor of Arabidopsis
was used along with the glucuronidase gene to make a chimeric fusion protein. When this
construct was used to transform Arabidopsis, the transgenic plants expressed about 20%
of heat-inducible level of heat shock proteins, and were more thermotolerant than normal
plants.
In cold stress, physiological, biochemical and molecular aspects of the cold acclimation
process have been widely studied. Genetic evidence suggests that acclimation-induced
cold tolerance is a quantitative character controlled by a number of additive genes. Cold
stress leads to differential gene activation and a growing number of cold-inducible genes
have been isolated.
Manipulation of the level of unsaturated fatty acids in plant membranes has shown its
relevance for cold tolerance. Lipid mutants of Arabidopsis provided evidence that
chloroplast lipid unsaturation is correlated with low temperature performance. Tobacco
plants transformed with glycerol-3-phosphatase acyltransferase (GPAT) from Arabidopsis
showed increased cold tolerance, while GPAT from squash (which is cold sensitive)
caused tobacco to be more sensitive to cold stress. The cold sensitivity of the transgenic
plants correlated with the extent offatty acid unsaturation in phosphatidylglycerol.
Salinity stress also induces specific gene products, some of which show overlap with those
induced by other stresses, particularly low temperature and drought. However, an
adaptive mechanism of many organisms to salinity is the accumulation of one or more low
molecular weight compounds to levels sufficient to maintain equal water potential with the
environment. Transgenic plant research has mainly focused on these compounds, since the
pathways for synthesis are simple and one gene can influence their accumulation. Tobacco
transformed with inositol methyl transferase to produce high levels of the cyclic sugar
alcohols pinitol and ononitol showed a growth advantage in the presence of salt stress.
Other compounds which have been identified as providing protection to salinity stress are
sorbitol, proline and glycinebetaine. Mutant and transgenic research is in progress with the
xi
genes involved in the synthesis of these compounds.
Signal transduction is a process in which an environmental stimulus may specifically
control the actives of various enzymes. Through the modulation of biochemical pathways
and cellular events by signa1ing events it is perceived that an environmental signal in
plants such as high temperature, low temperature, drought, or salinity through the specific
actives of various biochemical and molecular responses may control most plant functions.
This set of phenomena, referred to as signal transduction cascades, have been most
intensively studied in yeast and animal systems, although information about signal
transduction in plant systems is actively being investigated. It has become apparent in
recent years that signal transduction cascades modulating various environmental stress
responses, biological stress responses, hormonal signaling, and developmental signa1ing
overlap involve cross talk between various signaling cascades. It is very conceivable that
multiple physiological responses in plants can be manipulated simultaneously by
manipulation of signal transduction cascades.
The Organizing Committee is very great full to the NATO International Scientific
Exchange Programmes, Scientific Affairs Division, Brussels for the financial support
received to make this Advanced Research Workshop possible. The Organizing
Committee also appreciates Professor Cherry who contributed a significant amount to
cover over expenditures due to unexpected events.
Joe H. Cherry
Robert D. Locy
Anna Rychter