Introduction of OsglyII gene into Oryza sativa for increasing salinity tolerance

Mature seed-derived embryogenic calli of indica rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. PAU201) were induced on semisolid Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2.5 mg dm(-3) 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid + 0.5 mg dm(-3) kinetin + 560 mg dm(-3) proline + 30 g dm(-3) sucrose + 8 g dm(-3) agar. Using OsglyII gene, out of 3180 calli bombarded, 32 plants were regenerated on medium containing hygromycin (30 mg dm(-3)). Histochemical GUS assay of the hygromycin selected calli revealed GUS expression in 50 % calli. Among the regenerants, 46.87 % were GUS positive. PCR analysis confirmed the presence of the transgene of 1 kb in 60 % of independent plants. Further, these plants have been grown to maturity in glasshouse. In vitro screening for salt tolerance showed increase in fresh mass of OsglyII putative transgenic calli (185.4 mg) as compared to control calli (84.2 mg) on 90 mM NaCl after 15 d. When exposed to 150 mM NaCl, OsglyII putative transgenic plantlets showed normal growth while the non-transgenic control plantlets turned yellow and finally did not survive.