Overexpression of the V-ATPase c subunit gene from Antarctic notothenioid fishes enhances freezing tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis plants

Theoretical and experimental studies have demonstrated that temperature is an important environmental factor that affects the regional distribution of plants. However, how to modify the distribution pattern of plants in different regions is a focus of current research. Obtain the information of cold tolerance genes from cold tolerance species, cloning genes with real cold tolerance effects is one of the most important ways to find the genes related to cold tolerance. In this study, we investigated whether transferring the VHA-c gene from Antarctic notothenioid fishes into Arabidopsis enhances freezing tolerance of Arabidopsis. The physiological response and molecular changes of VHA-c overexpressing pedigree and wildtype Arabidopsis were studied at -20 degrees C. The results showed that the malondialdehyde (MDA) and membrane leakage rates of WT plants were significantly higher than those of VHA-c8 and VHA-c11 plants, but the soluble sugar, soluble protein, proline and ATP contents of WT plants were significantly lower than those of VHA-c8 and VHA-c11 plants under 20.C freezing treatment. The survival rate, VHA-c gene expression level and VHA-c protein contents of WT plants were significantly lower than those of VHA-c8 and VHA-c11 plants under 20.C freezing treatment. Correlation analysis showed that ATP content was significantly negatively correlated with MDA and membrane leakage rate, and positively correlated with soluble sugar, soluble protein and proline content under 20 degrees C freezing treatment. These results demonstrated that overexpression of the VHA-c gene provided strong freezing tolerance to Arabidopsis by increasing the synthesis of ATP and improved the adaptability of plants in low temperature environment.Y

Automated summary

Temperature is an important environmental factor affecting the regional distribution of plants, and transferring the VHA-c gene into Arabidopsis enhances freezing tolerance by increasing ATP synthesis. Overexpression of the VHA-c gene can significantly improve the adaptability of plants to low temperature environments.