Publishing Service

Polishing & Checking

Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE B

ISSN 1673-1581(Print), 1862-1783(Online), Monthly

Identification and characterization of plasma membrane aquaporins isolated from fiber cells of Calotropis procera

Abstract: Calotropis procera, commonly known as “milkweed”, possesses long seed trichomes for seed dispersal and has the ability to survive under harsh conditions such as drought and salinity. Aquaporins are water channel proteins expressed in all land plants, divided into five subfamilies plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs), tonoplast intrinsic proteins (TIPs), NOD26-like proteins (NIPs), small basic intrinsic proteins (SIPs), and the unfamiliar X intrinsic proteins (XIPs). PIPs constitute the largest group of water channel proteins that are involved in different developmental and regulatory mechanisms including water permeability, cell elongation, and stomata opening. Aquaporins are also involved in abiotic stress tolerance and cell expansion mechanisms, but their role in seed trichomes (fiber cells) has never been investigated. A large number of clones isolated from C. procera fiber cDNA library showed sequence homology to PIPs. Both expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) studies revealed that the transcript abundance of this gene family in fiber cells of C. procera is greater than that of cotton. Full-length cDNAs of CpPIP1 and CpPIP2 were isolated from C. procera fiber cDNA library and used for constructing plant expression vectors under constitutive (2×35S) and trichome-specific (GhLTP3) promoters. Transgenic tobacco plants were developed via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The phenotypic characteristics of the plants were observed after confirming the integration of transgene in plants. It was observed that CpPIP2 expression cassette under 2×35S and GhLTP3 promoter enhanced the numbers of stem and leave trichomes. However, 2×35S::CpPIP2 has a more amplified effect on trichome density and length than GhLTP3::CpPIP2 and other PIP constructs. These findings imply the role of C. procera PIP aquaporins in fiber cell elongation. The PIPs-derived cell expansion mechanism may be exploited through transgenic approaches for improvement of fiber staple length in cotton and boosting of defense against sucking insects by enhancing plant pubescence.

Key words: Seed trichome, Plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP), Fiber quality, Cell elongation, Tobacco, Agrobacterium


Share this article to: More

Go to Contents

References:

<Show All>

Open peer comments: Debate/Discuss/Question/Opinion

<1>

Waqas Malik@B.Z. U. <waqasmalik@bzu.edu.pk>

2013-05-26 03:30:16

This research paper contain novel finding about mechanism of fibre elongation and I am confident this manuscript could open new avenues for scientists specially working on cotton fibre.

Please provide your name, email address and a comment





DOI:

10.1631/jzus.B1200233

CLC number:

Q26

Download Full Text:

Click Here

Downloaded:

2993

Clicked:

6051

Cited:

1

On-line Access:

2013-07-04

Received:

2012-08-29

Revision Accepted:

2013-05-03

Crosschecked:

2013-06-05

Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China
Tel: +86-571-87952276; Fax: +86-571-87952331; E-mail: jzus@zju.edu.cn
Copyright © 2000~ Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE