Chalcone synthase EaCHS1 from Eupatorium adenophorum functions in salt stress tolerance in tobacco

• Published in: Plant cell reports Vol. 34; no. 5; pp. 885 - 894
• Main Authors: Lijuan, Chen, Huiming, Guo, Yi, Lin, Hongmei, Cheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.05.2015; Springer Berlin Heidelberg; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acyltransferases - genetics; Acyltransferases - metabolism; Ageratina - enzymology; Ageratina - genetics; Ageratina adenophora; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biosynthesis; Biotechnology; Cell Biology; circadian rhythm; Flavonoids; Flavonoids - metabolism; Gene Expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; gene overexpression; genes; Homeostasis; Life Sciences; naringenin-chalcone synthase; Nicotiana - enzymology; Nicotiana - genetics; Nicotiana - physiology; Original Paper; pathogens; Plant Biochemistry; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plant Sciences; plantlets; Plants, Genetically Modified; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; RNA Interference; Root development; salt stress; Salt Tolerance; Seed germination; Seedlings - enzymology; Seedlings - genetics; Seedlings - physiology; Sodium Chloride - pharmacology; stress tolerance; Stress, Physiological; Tobacco; Ultraviolet radiation; Gene expression; Salt stress; Chalcone synthase
• ISSN: 0721-7714; 1432-203X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00299-015-1751-7

KEY MESSAGE : EaCHS1 functions in the tolerance of plantlets to salinity stress by maintaining ROS homeostasis. Chalcone synthase (CHS) is an essential enzyme in the biosynthesis of flavonoids. Expression of CHS is governed by a wide range of environmental stimuli, including UV light, pathogen attack, and circadian clocks. However, little research exists on the relationship between CHS and salinity stress. In this work, we constructed separate overexpression and RNA interference vectors of EaCHS1, and transferred them into tobacco. Overexpression of EaCHS1 increased the production of downstream flavonoids and the expressions of related genes in the phenylpropanoid pathway. It also improved resistance to salinity stress during seed germination and root development. In contrast, heterologous silencing of endogenous CHS in tobacco by a conserved EaCHS1 fragment had opposite effect. Together, our results indicated that changing the expression level of EaCHS1 in plants alters the accumulation of flavonoids and regulates plantlet tolerance to salinity stress by maintaining ROS homeostasis.