Transgenic potato lines 35S:CDPK2 present higher tolerance to salt stress

GROSSI, CME; SANTIN FRANCO; ULLOA, RITA M

Rosario

Simposio; Simposio de Genómica Funcional de Plantas; 2017

TRANSGENIC POTATO LINES 35S:CDPK2 PRESENT HIGHERTOLERANCE TO SALT STRESSGrossi CEM1, Santin F1, Ulloa RM1-21 Instituto de Investigaciones en Biología Molecular e Ingeniería Genética ?Dr. Héctor N. Torres? INGEBI-CONICET, Vuelta de Obligado 2490 CABA. Argentina 2FCEyN-DQB-UBAEmail: cgrossi@dna.uba.arPlants depend on their ability to perceive and discriminate stimuli and thus adapt to environmental stresses. Calcium is a second essential messenger whose intracellular concentration varies in response to biotic and abiotic stimuli. Calcium sensors include calcium dependent protein kinases, CDPKs, which are involved in signaling pathways triggered by environmental stresses. Previous studies indicate that potato isoforms StCDPK1, 2, 3 and 7 could mediate the response to different stresses. Particularly, StCDPK2 promoter contains numerous elements responsive to ABA, dehydration and desiccation. The purpose of this work was to study the role of this CDPK under salt stress. Thus, we obtained potato lines carrying the 35S:CDPK2 transgene. Potato Desirée wild-type (wt) internodes were multiplied in the presence of 25, 50, 75 and 100 mM NaCl and it was determined that 50 mM NaCl resulted in a significant inhibition in terms of biomass but permitted sustained development. This concentration was selected to cultivate in vitro wt plants and two 35S:CDPK2 lines during 3 weeks. It was observed that both transgenic lines present higher content of chlorophyll and lower content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared to untransformed plants. Furthermore, line 2B presented higher biomass and greater root development.The activity of antioxidant enzymes and photosynthetic parameters will be determined to elucidate if StCDPK2 could modulate the redox balance.