Broad-range stress tolerance by the expression of the nitric oxide synthase from the unicellular marine algae Ostreococcus tauri (OtNOS) in Arabidopsis thaliana plants.

MAYTA M; FORESI N; LODEYRO A; CASALONGUE C; CARRILLO N; LAMATTINA L

Mar del Plata

Congreso; VIII Encuentro Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Biotecnología - REDBIO ARGENTINA 2013; 2013

REDBIO Argentina

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signalling molecule with diverse biological functions in plants. NO play s a cruc ial role in growth and development, from germination to senescence and it is also involved in the response to both abiotic and biotic stresses such as , drought, salinity, heat shock and plant diseases. There is also evidence supporting NO as a potent antioxidant protecting plants against oxidative damage. In animals, NO is synthesized through a nitric ox ide synthase (NOS) enzyme. Even though NOS activ ity has been detected in higher plants , no gene coding for a NOS protein has been identified so far. Recently, the NOS gene from the unicellular marine algae Ostreococcus tauri (OtNOS) has been characterized. In this work, Arabidopsis thaliana plants w ere transformed w ith OtNOS under the control of the PEC promoter of the sunflower gene , Hahb -4 which is inducible by water deficit, high salt concentrations and abscisic acid (ABA) . Transgenic plants exhibited improved response to salt, drought and also oxidative stress tolerance. These findings reinforce the idea of NO as a mediator in stress responses and pave th e w ay for the genetic manipulation of NO metabolism as a biotechnological tool for enhancing plant capabilities to cope with adverse environment al conditions .