Premium
Over‐expression of bael quinolone synthase in tobacco improves plant vigor under favorable conditions, drought, or salt stress
Author(s) -
Resmi Mohankumar Saraladevi,
Vivek Padmanabhan Jayanthi,
Soniya Eppurathu Vasudevan
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2014.12.016
Subject(s) - photosynthesis , chlorophyll , biology , abiotic stress , carotenoid , phytoremediation , botany , horticulture , photosynthetic efficiency , abiotic component , transgene , chloroplast , biochemistry , gene , ecology , paleontology , contamination
Type III polyketide synthases (PKSs) catalyze the biosynthesis of various medicinally important secondary metabolites in plants, but their role in growth and stress response is unclear. Here, we overexpressed quinolone synthase ( QNS ) from bael in tobacco. QNS ‐overexpressing plants showed an overall increase in growth, photosynthetic efficiency and chlorophyll content compared to wild type plants. Second‐generation (T 2 ) transgenic plants grew to maturity, flowered early and set viable seeds under favorable conditions without yield penalty. An increased accumulation of flavonoids, phenols and alkaloids was associated with higher tolerance to drought and salinity stress in transgenic plants. Thus, bael QNS seems to function as a positive regulator of plant growth and stress response, and could be potentially used for engineering plants tolerant to abiotic stress.