The Effect of Tobacco Plant Transformation with a Gene for Acyl-Lipid Delta 9-Desaturase from Synechococcus vulcanus on Plant Chilling Tolerance

• Published in: Russian journal of plant physiology 2005-09, Vol.52 (5), p.664-667
• Main Authors: Popov, V N, Orlova, I V, Kipaikina, N V, Serebriiskaya, T S, Merkulova, N V, Nosov, A M, Trunova, TI, Tsydendambaev, V D, Los, DA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cyanophyta; Synechococcus vulcanus
• ISSN: 1021-4437; 1608-3407
• DOI: 10.1007/s11183-005-0098-2

Tobacco plants with the introduced desC gene for acyl-lipid Delta 9-desaturase from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus vulcanus were cultivated on agar-solidified Murashige and Skoog nutrient medium supplemented with ferulic acid and antibiotics at 22 degree C and a 16-h photoperiod. Control plants were transformed with an empty pGA482 vector. The analysis of fatty acids (FAs) showed that, in transgenic plants, the level of 16:0 and 18:0 FAs decreased substantially, whereas the levels of di- and trienoic FAs increased. Transformed plants were more cold-tolerant. The tolerance to chilling was evaluated from electrolyte leakage from tissues damaged by cold treatments and from the accumulation of a product of lipid peroxidation, malondialdehyde. It was concluded that acyl-lipid Delta 9-desaturase was actively expressed in transgenic tobacco plants and converted stearic acid into oleic acid, thus producing a substrate for further synthesis of di- and trienoic FAs. An increased proportion of polyunsaturated FAs in membrane lipids resulted in improved tobacco plant tolerance to chilling.