Jent-turn Lee

Bio: Jent-turn Lee is an academic researcher from Academia Sinica. The author has contributed to research in topics: Genetically modified crops & Transgene. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 469 citations.

Tomato plants ectopically expressing Arabidopsis CBF1 show enhanced resistance to water deficit stress.

Abstract: A DNA cassette containing an Arabidopsis C repeat/dehydration-responsive element binding factor 1 (CBF1) cDNA and a nos terminator, driven by a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, was transformed into the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) genome. These transgenic tomato plants were more resistant to water deficit stress than the wild-type plants. The transgenic plants exhibited growth retardation by showing dwarf phenotype, and the fruit and seed numbers and fresh weight of the transgenic tomato plants were apparently less than those of the wild-type plants. Exogenous gibberellic acid treatment reversed the growth retardation and enhanced growth of transgenic tomato plants, but did not affect the level of water deficit resistance. The stomata of the transgenic CBF1 tomato plants closed more rapidly than the wild type after water deficit treatment with or without gibberellic acid pretreatment. The transgenic tomato plants contained higher levels of Pro than those of the wild-type plants under normal or water deficit conditions. Subtractive hybridization was used to isolate the responsive genes to heterologous CBF1 in transgenic tomato plants and the CAT1 (CATALASE1) was characterized. Catalase activity increased, and hydrogen peroxide concentration decreased in transgenic tomato plants compared with the wild-type plants with or without water deficit stress. These results indicated that the heterologous Arabidopsis CBF1 can confer water deficit resistance in transgenic tomato plants.

The sweet pepper ferredoxin-like protein (pflp) conferred resistance against soft rot disease in Oncidium orchid.

Abstract: Genetic engineering to date has not been used to introduce disease resistance genes into the orchid gene pool. The ferredoxin-like protein gene originally isolated from sweet pepper is thought to function as a natural defense against infection due to its antimicrobial properties. Hence it was reasoned that introduction of this gene might produce Oncidium plants resistant to Erwinia carotovora, the causal agent for the soft rot disease. An expression vector containing sweet pepper ferredoxin-like protein (pflp) cDNA, hph and gusA coding sequence was successfully transformed into protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) of Oncidium orchid, using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105. A total of 17 independent transgenic orchid lines was obtained, out of which six transgenic lines (β-glucuronidase (GUS) positive) were randomly selected and confirmed by Southern, northern and western blot analyses. A bioassay was conducted on the transgenic lines. Transgenic plants showed enhanced resistance to E. carotovora, even when the entire plant was challenged with the pathogen. Our results suggest that pflp may be an extremely useful gene for genetic engineering strategies in orchids to confer resistance against soft rot disease.

Arabidopsis AtMSRB5 functions as a salt-stress protector for both Arabidopsis and rice

Abstract: Salinity, drought and low temperature are major environmental factors that adversely affect crop productivity worldwide. In this study we adopted an activation tagging approach to identify salt tolerant mutants of Arabidopsis. Thousands of tagged Arabidopsis lines were screened to obtain several potential mutant lines resistant to 150 mM NaCl. Transcript analysis of a salt-stress tolerance 1 (sst1) mutant line indicated activation of AtMSRB5 and AtMSRB6 which encode methionine sulfoxide reductases. Overexpression of AtMSRB5 in Arabidopsis (B5OX) showed a similar salt tolerant phenotype. Furthermore, biochemical analysis indicated stability of the membrane protein, H+-ATPase 2 (AHA2) through regulation of Na+/K+ homeostasis which may be involved in a stress tolerance mechanism. Similarly, overexpression of AtMSRB5 in transgenic rice demonstrated a salt tolerant phenotype via the modulation of Na+/K+ homeostasis without a yield drag under salt and oxidative stress conditions.

Transcriptional regulatory networks in cellular responses and tolerance to dehydration and cold stresses.

Abstract: Plant growth and productivity are greatly affected by environmental stresses such as drought, high salinity, and low temperature. Expression of a variety of genes is induced by these stresses in various plants. The products of these genes function not only in stress tolerance but also in stress response. In the signal transduction network from perception of stress signals to stress-responsive gene expression, various transcription factors and cis-acting elements in the stress-responsive promoters function for plant adaptation to environmental stresses. Recent progress has been made in analyzing the complex cascades of gene expression in drought and cold stress responses, especially in identifying specificity and cross talk in stress signaling. In this review article, we highlight transcriptional regulation of gene expression in response to drought and cold stresses, with particular emphasis on the role of transcription factors and cis-acting elements in stress-inducible promoters.

Drought and Salt Tolerance in Plants

Abstract: Agricultural productivity worldwide is subject to increasing environmental constraints, particularly to drought and salinity due to their high magnitude of impact and wide distribution. Traditional breeding programs trying to improve abiotic stress tolerance have had some success, but are limited by the multigenic nature of the trait. Tolerant plants such as Craterostigma plantagenium, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, Thellungiella halophila and other hardy plants could be valuable tools to dissect the extreme tolerance nature. In the last decade, Arabidopsis thaliana, a genetic model plant, has been extensively used for unravelling the molecular basis of stress tolerance. Arabidopsis also proved to be extremely important for assessing functions for individual stress-associated genes due to the availability of knock-out mutants and its amenability for genetic transformation. In this review, the responses of plants to salt and water stress are described, the regulatory circuits which allow plants to cope wit...

Mechanisms underlying plant resilience to water deficits: prospects for water-saving agriculture

Abstract: Drought is one of the greatest limitations to crop expansion outside the present-day agricultural areas. It will become increasingly important in regions of the globe where, in the past, the problem was negligible, due to the recognized changes in global climate. Today the concern is with improving cultural practices and crop genotypes for drought-prone areas; therefore, understanding the mechanisms behind drought resistance and the efficient use of water by the plants is fundamental for the achievement of those goals. In this paper, the major constraints to carbon assimilation and the metabolic regulations that play a role in plant responses to water deficits, acting in isolation or in conjunction with other stresses, is reviewed. The effects on carbon assimilation include increased resistance to diffusion by stomata and the mesophyll, as well as biochemical and photochemical adjustments. Oxidative stress is critical for crops that experience drought episodes. The role of detoxifying systems in preventing irreversible damage to photosynthetic machinery and of redox molecules as local or systemic signals is revised. Plant capacity to avoid or repair membrane damage during dehydration and rehydration processes is pivotal for the maintenance of membrane integrity, especially for those that embed functional proteins. Among such proteins are water transporters, whose role in the regulation of plant water status and transport of other metabolites is the subject of intense investigation. Long-distance chemical signalling, as an early response to drought, started to be unravelled more than a decade ago. The effects of those signals on carbon assimilation and partitioning of assimilates between reproductive and non-reproductive structures are revised and discussed in the context of novel management techniques. These applications are designed to combine increased crop water-use efficiency with sustained yield and improved quality of the products. Through an understanding of the mechanisms leading to successful adaptation to dehydration and rehydration, it has already been possible to identify key genes able to alter metabolism and increase plant tolerance to drought. An overview of the most important data on this topic, including engineering for osmotic adjustment or protection, water transporters, and C4 traits is presented in this paper. Emphasis is given to the most successful or promising cases of genetic engineering in crops, using functional or regulatory genes. as well as to promising technologies, such as the transfer of transcription factors.

Understanding and Improving Salt Tolerance in Plants

Abstract: One-fifth of irrigated agriculture is adversely affected by soil salinity. Hence, developing salt-tolerant crops is essential for sustaining food production. Progress in breeding for salt-tolerant crops has been hampered by the lack of understanding of the molecular basis of salt tolerance and lack of availability of genes that confer salt tolerance. Genetic evidence suggests that perception of salt stress leads to a cytosolic calcium-signal that activates the calcium sensor protein SOS3. SOS3 binds to and activates a ser/thr protein kinase SOS2. The activated SOS2 kinase regulates activities of SOS1, a plasma membrane Na + /H + antiporter, and NHX1, a tonoplast Na + /H + anti-porter. This results in Na + efflux and vacuolar compartmentation. A putative osmosensory histidine kinase (AtHKI)-MAPK cascade probably regulates osmotic homeostasis and ROS scavenging. Osmotic stress and ABA (abscisic acid)-mediated regulation of LEA (late-embryogenesis-abundant)-type proteins also play important roles in plant salt tolerance. Genetic engineering of ion transporters and their regulators, and of the CBF (C-repeat-binding factor) regulons, holds promise for future development of salt-tolerant crops.