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OsWNK9 mitigates salt and drought stress effects through induced antioxidant systems in Arabidopsis

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Abstract

With No Lysine kinase (WNK) belongs to the ser/thr protein kinases category in which the conserved catalytic lysine (K) residue is present in subdomain I instead of being in subdomain II. WNKs alleviate various abiotic stresses through a variety of signal transduction pathways governing various stress tolerance mechanisms in plants. These mechanisms include accumulation of osmo-regulator entities such as proline, activation of various antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (POD) as well as certain non-enzyme molecules like secondary metabolites. All of these mechanisms flush out harmful reactive species and maintain cellular integrity in plants. The present study evaluated biochemical properties of wild-type (WT) and OsWNK9 transgenic Arabidopsis lines against the salt and drought stress conditions. Transgenic lines showed high levels of proline accumulation, reduced membrane damage and hydrogen peroxide content compared to WT plants. Moreover, the transgenic lines exhibited the improved activity of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and ascorbate peroxidase along with the dynamism in peroxidase activity. The total antioxidant capacity in terms of DPPH free radical scavenging percentage was highest in the transgenic lines in comparison to the WT. The Na+, K+ and Na+/K+ measurements among the WT and transgenic lines suggested that the transgenic lines efficiently maintained the intracellular ionic balance and thereby reduces the extent of the cell death. Altogether, transgenic Arabidopsis lines evinced more tolerance to salinity and drought stress than WT plants signifying the involvement of OsWNK9 gene in the regulation of abiotic stress tolerance.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by financial assistance from the Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology (India) (SB/FT/LS-312/2012).

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  1. Rakesh Manuka and Suhas Balasaheb Karle have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, K. K. Birla Goa Campus, Zuarinagar, Goa, 403726, India

    Rakesh Manuka, Suhas Balasaheb Karle & Kundan Kumar

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  1. Rakesh Manuka
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  2. Suhas Balasaheb Karle
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Correspondence to Kundan Kumar.

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Manuka, R., Karle, S.B. & Kumar, K. OsWNK9 mitigates salt and drought stress effects through induced antioxidant systems in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol. Rep. 24, 168–181 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40502-019-00448-w

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