Characterization of a Drought-Induced Betaine Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Gene <i>SgBADH</i> from <i>Suaeda glauca</i>
Hangxia Jin,
Min Tang,
Longmin Zhu,
Xiaomin Yu,
Qinghua Yang,
Xujun Fu
Affiliations
Hangxia Jin
Key Laboratory of Digital Upland Crops of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Crops and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Hangzhou 310021, China
Min Tang
Hangzhou Institute for Food and Drug Control, Hangzhou 310022, China
Longmin Zhu
Key Laboratory of Digital Upland Crops of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Crops and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Hangzhou 310021, China
Xiaomin Yu
Key Laboratory of Digital Upland Crops of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Crops and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Hangzhou 310021, China
Qinghua Yang
Key Laboratory of Digital Upland Crops of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Crops and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Hangzhou 310021, China
Xujun Fu
Key Laboratory of Digital Upland Crops of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Crops and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Hangzhou 310021, China
Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenases (BADHs) are key enzymes in the biosynthesis of glycine betaine, which is an important organic osmolyte that maintains cell structure and improves plant tolerance to abiotic stresses, especially in halotolerant plants. Improving the drought tolerance of crops will greatly increase their yield. In this study, a novel BADH gene named SgBADH from Suaeda glauca was induced by drought stress or abscisic acid. To explore the biological function of SgBADH, the SgBADH gene was transformed into Arabidopsis. Then, we found SgBADH-overexpressing Arabidopsis seedlings showed enhanced tolerance to drought stress. SgBADH transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings also had longer roots compared with controls under drought stress, while SgBADH-overexpressing Arabidopsis exhibited increased glycine betaine accumulation and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) under drought stress. Our results suggest that SgBADH might be a positive regulator in plants during the response to drought.
