Ajay Pardia
M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, India
Title: Halophytes as a source of Identification of genes for Abiotic Stress Tolerance
Biography
Biography: Ajay Pardia
Abstract
Agricultural productivity is majorly impacted due to various abiotic stresses, particularly salinity and drought. Halophytes serve as an excellent resource for identifying and developing new crop systems, as these grow very luxuriously in very high saline soils. In our laboratory we have used halophytic mangrove species (Avicennia marina, Porteresia coaractata, Sueda maritime, Salicornia brachiata) for understanding salinity stress tolerance mechanisms in halophytes. Using large scale sequencing approaches from salt stressed cDNA library, we have isolated, characterized and identified a number of candidate genes for salinity and drought stress. In this communication we report the use of AmSod1 cDNA by transforming it into rice and analysing the transgenic plants for abiotic stress tolerance. Southern hybridization of A. marina genomic DNA using Sod1, revealed that this gene inA. marina genome is present as a single copy. The cDNA was cloned into a binary vector (pCAMBIA 1300) and transformed into indica rice. Southern hybridization analysis of transgenic rice plants revealed stable integration of the Sod1 transgene in the rice genome. The mRNA transcript of Sod1 was detected by Northern hybridisation in the transgenic rice plants. SOD isozyme assay of the transgenic rice plants revealed the stable expression of the transgenic Sod1 protein. The transgenic plants also withstood salinity stress of 150 mM of NaCl. Pot grown transgenic plants could also tolerate salinity stress better than the untransformed control plants, when irrigated with saline water. The transgenic plants also revealed better tolerance to drought stress in comparison to untransformed control plants. This study shows that genes for halophyte systems can provide useful genetic combinations for addressing the abiotic stresses affecting the global agriculture.