Transgenic Arabidopsis Plants Expressing Grape Glutathione S-Transferase Gene (VvGSTF13) Show Enhanced Tolerance to Abiotic Stress

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Jing Xu¹, Ai-Qing Zheng², Xiao-Juan Xing¹, Lei Chen¹, Xiao-Yan Fu¹, Ri-He Peng¹, Yong-Sheng Tian^1,a*, and Quan-Hong Yao^1,b*

¹Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute of Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China

²Institute of Food Crops, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Science, Kunming 650205, Yunnan, China

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received June 5, 2017; Revision received March 2, 2018

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Although glutathione S-transferase (GST, EC 2.5.1.18) is thought to play important roles in abiotic stress, limited information is available regarding the function of its gene in grapes. In this study, a GST gene from grape, VvGSTF13, was cloned and functionally characterized. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants containing this gene were normal in terms of growth and maturity compared with control plants but had enhanced resistance to salt, drought, and methyl viologen stress. The increased tolerance of the transgenic plants correlated with changes in activities of antioxidative enzymes. Our results indicate that the gene from grape plays a positive role in improving tolerance to salinity, drought, and methyl viologen stresses in Arabidopsis.

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KEY WORDS: glutathione S-transferase, abiotic stress, stress tolerance, oxidative stress, grape

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297918060135

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