Protective functions of alternative splicing transcripts (- and -) of from bermudagrass under multiple abiotic stresses.

Dehydrins (DHNs) play critical roles in plant adaptation to abiotic stresses. The objective of this study was to characterize DHNs in bermudagrass ( spp.). gene was cloned from bermudagrass 'Tifway'. Two transcripts were detected due to alternative splicing (the nonspliced - and the spliced -) and both the CdDHN4-S and CdDHN4-L proteins are YSK-type DHNs, the Φ-segment is present in CdDHN4-L and absent in CdDHN4-S. Transgenic expressing - or - exhibited improved tolerance to salt, osmotic, low temperature and drought stress compared to the wild type (WT). The two transgenic lines did not differ in salt or drought tolerance, while plants expressing - grew better under osmotic stress than those expressing -. Both transgenic lines exhibited reduced content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS); and higher antioxidant enzymatic activities than the wild type plants under salt or drought stress. - exhibited a higher ROS-scavenging capacity than -.