The Gene Improves the Salt Tolerance of Transgenic and .

The salt overly sensitive (SOS) signal transduction pathway is one of the most highly studied salt tolerance pathways in plants. However, the molecular mechanism of the salt stress response in has remained largely unclear. In this study, five genes (-) from were cloned and characterized. The expression levels of most genes significantly changed after NaCl, PEG, and abscisic acid (ABA) treatment in at least one organ. Notably, the expression of was significantly downregulated after 6 h under salt stress. To further analyze function, overexpression and RNAi-mediated silencing were performed using a transient transformation system. Compared with controls, -overexpressing transgenic plants exhibited greater reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging capability and antioxidant enzyme activity, lower malondialdehyde (MDA) and HO levels, and lower electrolyte leakage rates under salt stress. Similar results were obtained for physiological parameters in transgenic Arabidopsis, including HO and MDA accumulation, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activity, and electrolyte leakage. In addition, transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing displayed increased root growth and fresh weight gain under salt stress. Together, these data suggest that overexpression of confers salt stress tolerance on plants by enhancing antioxidant enzyme activity, improving ROS-scavenging capability, and decreasing the MDA content and lipid peroxidation of cell membranes. These results suggest that might play an important physiological role in salt tolerance in transgenic plants. This study provides a foundation for further elucidation of salt tolerance mechanisms involving s in .