Vacuolar membrane H-ATPase c`` subunit gene (ThVHAc``1) from Tamarix hispida Willd improves salt stress tolerance.

The plant vacuolar H-ATPase (V-ATPase) is a multisubunit complex. In addition to performing basic housekeeping functions, this complex is also involved in abiotic stress resistance in plants. In this study, a V-ATPase c subunit gene (ThVHAc1) from Tamarix hispida Willd was cloned with a 534-bp ORF. Sequence analysis showed that the ThVHAc1 protein contains four transmembrane helices and lacks a signal peptide. qRT-PCR results showed that ThVHAc1 was primarily induced by treatments of NaCl, NaHCO, PEG, CdCl or ABA in roots, stems and leaves of T. hispida. The expression pattern of ThVHAc1 was significantly different from that of ThVHAc1 (a V-ATPase c subunit in T. hispida). Furthermore, the cell survival rates and density (OD) results showed that the transgenic yeast overexpressing ThVHAc1 exhibited increased tolerance to the above-mentioned abiotic stresses. In addition, the overexpression of ThVHAc1 confers salt tolerance to transgenic Arabidopsis plants by improving the ROS content and decreasing the accumulation of O and HO. Similarly, the homologous transformation of the ThVHAc1 gene into T. hispida also improved salt tolerance. Our results suggest that the ThVHAc``1 gene plays an important role in plant stress tolerance.