Zhizhong Song23 Shunying Yang24 Hong Zhu5 Man Jin24 and Yanhua Su26. Heterologous expression of an alligatorweed high-affinity potassium transporter gene enhances salinity tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana
Premise of the study: The potassium cation (K+) one of the most abundant cations in cells improves plant tolerance to various abiotic stresses. Alligatorweed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) is well known for its strong capacity to accumulate K+. The distinctive K+ accumulation capability of alligatorweed is linked to a high-affinity K+ transport facilitated by K+-uptake transporters (ApKUPs).
Methods: A putative K+ transporter gene ApKUP4 was isolated from alligatorweed using degenerate primers and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) techniques. Gene expression profiles were performed by quantitative real time PCR and northern blot analysis. Moreover we introduced ApKUP4 into Arabidopsis to determine its function in improving crop nutrition and NaCl stress tolerance.
