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JXB Advance Access originally published online on April 8, 2004
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Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 55, No. 399, pp. 1013-1019, May 1, 2004
© 2004 Oxford University Press

Cell and Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Physiology

Expression of the Nicotiana protein kinase (NPK1) enhanced drought tolerance in transgenic maize

Received 4 November 2003; Accepted 11 February 2004

Huixia Shou*, Patricia Bordallo and Kan Wang{dagger}

Plant Transformation Facility, Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1010, USA

* Present address: College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China.
{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: +1 515 294 2299. E-mail: kanwang{at}iastate.edu
Abbreviations: AP, apparent photosynthesis; GST, glutathione S-transferase; HSP, heat shock protein; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; NPK1, Nicotiana protein kinase.

Drought is one of the most important abiotic stresses affecting the productivity of maize. Previous studies have shown that expression of a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) gene activated an oxidative signal cascade and led to the tolerance of freezing, heat, and salinity stress in transgenic tobacco. To analyse the role of activation of oxidative stress signalling in improving drought tolerance in major crops, a tobacco MAPKKK (NPK1) was expressed constitutively in maize. Results show that NPK1 expression enhanced drought tolerance in transgenic maize. Under drought conditions, transgenic maize plants maintained significantly higher photosynthesis rates than did the non-transgenic control, suggesting that NPK1 induced a mechanism that protected photosynthesis machinery from dehydration damage. In addition, drought-stressed transgenic plants produced kernels with weights similar to those under well-watered conditions, while kernel weights of drought-stressed non-transgenic control plants were significantly reduced when compared with their non-stressed counterparts.

Key words: Drought tolerance, Nicotiana protein kinase, photosynthesis rate, transgenic maize, Zea mays.


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