A germin-like protein gene of rice increased superoxide dismutase activity in transformed tobacco.

Germin and germin-like proteins (GLPs) are a broad and diverse family of developmentally regulated proteins widely distributed in plants. Oryza sativa L. harbours a large family of GLPs and serves as a good model for their study. In the present study, a germin-like protein gene ( OsRGLP1) of rice origin was characterized by its heterologous expression in tobacco. The real-time PCR established almost a uniform expression of OsRGLP1 in leaves, stem, and roots of T Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsun. Although no morphological difference was apparent between T transgenic and wild-type plants, leaves of mature transgenic plants showed necrotic lesions associated with an elevated content of HO, which was evidenced by in situ 3,3′-diaminobenzidine staining. A significantly higher activity of heat resistant superoxide dismutase (SOD) was observed in the transgenic plants as compared to the wild-type. The SOD activity in the transgenic plants was insensitive to potassium cyanide and sensitive to HO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]