Introduction of Arabidopsis’s heat shock factor HsfA1d mitigates adverse effects of heat stress on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) plant

• Published in: Cell stress & chaperones Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 57 - 63
• Main Authors: Shah, Zamarud, Shah, Safdar Hussain, Ali, Gul Shad, Munir, Iqbal, Khan, Raham Sher, Iqbal, Arshad, Ahmed, Nisar, Jan, Asad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Science + Business Media 01.01.2020; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agrobacterium; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cancer Research; Cell Biology; Chlorophyll; Cloning; Cloning vectors; Electrolyte leakage; Explants; Exposure; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - genetics; Genes, Plant; Heat shock; Heat shock factors; Heat Shock Transcription Factors - genetics; Heat Shock Transcription Factors - metabolism; Heat stress; Heat tolerance; Heat-Shock Response - genetics; Hsp70 protein; Immunology; Neurosciences; ORIGINAL PAPER; Pigments; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics; Potatoes; Proline; Room temperature; Solanum tuberosum - genetics; Solanum tuberosum - metabolism; Temperature tolerance; Thermal stress; Thermotolerance - genetics; Thermotolerance - physiology; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transgenic plants; Potato; Thermotolerance; Solanum tuberosum; Heat shock factors; HsfA1d
• ISSN: 1355-8145; 1466-1268
• DOI: 10.1007/s12192-019-01043-6

Thermal stress induces a wide array of morphological and physiological changes in potato affecting its development and economic yield. Response to thermal stress in plants is mostly regulated by heat shock factors (hsfs). The current study aimed at improving heat tolerance by transforming potato plant with heat shock factor, HsfA1d, using Agrobacterium. Gateway cloning strategy was adopted for isolation of HsfA1d from Arabidopsis thaliana and cloning into plant expression vector. The target gene was introduced into potato by infecting internodal explants with Agrobacterium strain GV3101 carrying pGWB402O-HsfA1d construct. Upon exposure to heat stress, the wild-type plants turned yellowish, whereas no phenotypic effect on transgenic plants was observed. Expression of HsfA1d in transgenic plants was increased by 5.8-fold under thermal stress compared to room temperature. Transgenic plants exhibited 6-fold increase in the expression of downstream HSP70 under thermal stress compared to wild-type plants. Both chlorophyll a and b were significantly decreased in wild-type plants while no such decrease was recorded in transgenic plants under thermal stress. Heat stress was found to have no significant effect on carotenoid pigments of both wild-type and transgenic plants. Significantly lower electrolyte leakage from transgenic plants was witnessed compared to wild type upon exposure to thermal stress. Transgenic plants accumulated significantly higher proline content compared to wild-type plants under heat stress. It is concluded that HsfA1d plays a vital role in plant thermotolerance and hence can be effectively used to enhance the resistance of crop plants against heat stress.