A bamboo leaf-specific aquaporin gene PePIP2;7 is involved in abiotic stress response.
PePIP2;7, a leaf-specific aquaporin gene in bamboo, is upregulated under abiotic stresses. Overexpressing PePIP2;7 confers abiotic stresses tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis plant and yeast. Aquaporins (AQPs) participate in the regulation of water balance in plants. However, the function of AQPs in bamboo remains unclear. Here, PePIP2;7 was identified as a leaf-specific aquaporin gene in moso bamboo based on the expression analysis of transcriptome data and PCR. In situ hybridization further indicated that PePIP2;7 was mainly expressed in mesophyll cells of mature leaves, while in immature leaves it was dominant in blade edge cells followed by mesophyll cells. Interestingly, PePIP2;7 was strongly expressed in the mesophyll cells near bulliform cells of immature leaves, suggesting that PePIP2;7 might function in water transport and contribute to leaf unfolding. The transient expression assay showed that PePIP2;7 was a plasma membrane intrinsic protein. Furthermore, PePIP2;7 was upregulated under abiotic stresses such as high light, drought, and NaCl. Compared with Col-0, transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing PePIP2;7 had better seed germination rate, longer taproot length, higher SOD activity, and lower MDA content under abiotic stresses. Besides, yeasts expressing PePIP2;7 also had higher tolerance to stress compared to the control. Taken together, our results show that PePIP2;7 is leaf-specific and involved in stress response, which provides new insights into aquaporin function in bamboo.
['Sun|Huayu|H|', 'Wang|Sining|S|', 'Lou|Yongfeng|Y|', 'Zhu|Chenglei|C|', 'Zhao|Hansheng|H|', 'Li|Ying|Y|', 'Li|Xueping|X|', 'Gao|Zhimin|Z|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4464-7159']
D000975:Antioxidants D020346:Aquaporins D017360:Arabidopsis D002734:Chlorophyll D004798:Enzymes D005453:Fluorescence D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant D018525:Germination D008353:Mannitol D010802:Phylogeny D018515:Plant Leaves D010940:Plant Proteins D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction D054712:Salinity D031787:Sasa D012965:Sodium Chloride D013312:Stress, Physiological
Aquaporin Abiotic stresses Moso bamboo Leaf-specific gene