Improved thermotolerance in transgenic barley by overexpressing a heat
shock factor gene (TaHsfA6b) from wheat
Abstract
Temperature is one of the most important abiotic factors defining the
yield potential of temperate cereal crops such as barley. The regulators
of heat shock response (HSR); Heat shock factors (HSFs) modulate the
transcription level of heat responsive genes in order to protect the
plants against heat stress. In the present study, a heat shock factor
from wheat (TaHSFA6b) is overexpressed in barley for providing
thermotolerance. Transgenic barley lines overexpressing TaHSFA6b showed
significant improvement in thermotolerance. The constitutive
overexpression of TaHSFA6b gene upregulated the expression of major heat
shock protein genes as well as other abiotic stress responsive genes.
RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analysis showed upregulation of HSPs, chaperonins,
DNAJ, LEA proteins and genes related to anti-oxidative enzymes in
transgenic lines. Excessive generation and accumulation of ROS occurred
in wild type plants during heat stress; however, the transgenic lines
reflected improved ROS homeostasis mechanisms in the form of
significantly low ROS accumulation under high temperature. There were no
negative phenotypic changes in overexpression lines. The present study
suggests that TaHSFA6b is one of the major regulators of HSR as it
showed the capacity to alter the expression patterns of main defense
related genes and enhance the thermotolerance of this cereal crops.