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A Na+/H+ antiporter, K2-NhaD, improves salt and drought tolerance in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

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Overexpression of K2-NhaD in transgenic cotton resulted in phenotypes with strong salinity and drought tolerance in greenhouse and field experiments, increased expression of stress-related genes, and improved regulation of metabolic pathways, such as the SOS pathway.

Abstract

Drought and salinity are major abiotic stressors which negatively impact cotton yield under field conditions. Here, a plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter gene, K2-NhaD, was introduced into upland cotton R15 using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation system. Homozygous transgenic lines K9, K17, and K22 were identified by PCR and glyphosate-resistance. TAIL-PCR confirmed that T-DNA carrying the K2-NhaD gene in transgenic lines K9, K17 and K22 was inserted into chromosome 3, 19 and 12 of the cotton genome, respectively. Overexpression of K2-NhaD in transgenic cotton plants grown in greenhouse conditions and subjected to drought and salinity stress resulted in significantly higher relative water content, chlorophyll, soluble sugar, proline levels, and SOD, CAT, and POD activity, relative to non-transgenic plants. The expression of stress-related genes was significantly upregulated, and this resulted in improved regulation of metabolic pathways, such as the salt overly sensitive pathway. K2-NhaD transgenic plants growing under field conditions displayed strong salinity and drought tolerance, especially at high levels of soil salinity and drought. Seed cotton yields in transgenic line were significantly higher than in wild-type plants. In conclusion, the data indicate that K2-NhaD transgenic lines have great potential for the production of stress-tolerant cotton under field conditions.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National GMO New Cultivar Science and Technology grant (2016ZX08005-004) entitled: “GM cotton resistance to drought and salinity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Agrobiotechnology and College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100094, China

    Wenfang Guo & Sanfeng Chen

  2. Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Gangqiang Li, Nan Wang, Caifeng Yang, Yanan Zhao, Huakang Peng & Dehu Liu

Authors
  1. Wenfang Guo
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  2. Gangqiang Li
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  3. Nan Wang
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  4. Caifeng Yang
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  5. Yanan Zhao
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  6. Huakang Peng
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  7. Dehu Liu
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  8. Sanfeng Chen
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Contributions

WG performed the experiments, conceived experiments and research plans, analyzed the data, and participated in the writing of the manuscript; GL and NW provided technical assistance to WG; CY, YZ and HP participated in part of experiments; SC and DL supervised the experiments, conceived research plans, and complemented the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dehu Liu or Sanfeng Chen.

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Guo, W., Li, G., Wang, N. et al. A Na+/H+ antiporter, K2-NhaD, improves salt and drought tolerance in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Plant Mol Biol 102, 553–567 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-020-00969-1

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