ABSTRACT. The accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) causes ER stress and activates the unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling pathway. The UPR signaling pathway is associated with plant responses to adverse environmental conditions. Thus, changes in the UPR signaling pathway might affect plant abiotic tolerance. Here, the role of ER small heat-shock protein (ER-sHSP) in improving plant resistance to salt stress was explored. Under salt stress conditions, ER-sHSP transgenic plants were found to have more vigorous roots, maintain a higher relative water content, absorb less Na + , accumulate more osmolytes and Ca 2+ , and sustain less damage to the photosystem, compared to wild-type non-transgenic plants. Furthermore, we found that the constitutive expression of ER-sHSP under salt stress depressed the expression of other ER molecular chaperones. These results indicate that the constitutive expression of ER-sHSP enhanced salinity tolerance of tomato plants significantly, and alleviated the ER stress caused by the salt stress in plant cells.

ABSTRACT. Rape seed (Brassica napus L.) is one of the most important oil seed crops in the world. Genetic manipulation of rapeseed requires a suitable tissue culture system and an efficient method for plant regeneration, as well as an efficient transformation procedure. However, development of transgenic B. napus has been problematic, and current studies are limited to cultivated varieties. In this study, we report a protocol for regeneration of transgenic rape after Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of hypocotyls from the spring B. napus 'Precocity' cultivar. We analyzed the effects of plant growth regulators in the medium on regeneration. Additionally, factors affecting the transformation efficiency, including seedling age, Agrobacterium concentration, infection time, and co-cultivation time, were assessed by monitoring GUS expression. Results from these experiments revealed that transformation was optimized when the meristematic parts of the 16841 Transformation and root formation of Brassica napus ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 14 (4): 16840-16855 (2015) hypocotyls were taken from 8 day-old seedlings, cultured on Murashinge and Skoog basal media containing 0.1 mg/L 1-naphthaleneacetic acid and 2.5 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine, and incubated in Agrobacterium suspension (OD 600 = 0.5) for 3 to 5 min, followed by 2 days of cocultivation. Integration of T-DNA into the plant genome was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), b-glucuronidase histochemical staining, and quantitative real-time PCR. The protocols developed for regeneration, transformation, and rooting described in this study could help to accelerate the development of transgenic spring rape varieties with novel features.