Page 8 - S. Plant biology

[S. Plant biology-5]

Downregulation of PagSAP11 affects abiotic stress responses

and shoot architecture

Su Jin Park¹, Hyun A Jang¹, Hyoshin Lee¹, Eun-Kyung Bae¹˙*

¹Department of Forest Bioresources, National Institute of Forest Science, Suwon 16631, Korea

Plants have evolved defense mechanisms to overcome unfavorable climate conditions such as salinity, drought, and
extreme temperatures. In this study, we investigated the molecular and physiological characteristics of the novel
gene PagSAP11 from hybrid poplar (Populus alba × P. glandulosa) in response to salt and drought stress. PagSAP11

encodes a putative protein containing an A20 and AN1 zinc-finger domain at its N- and C-terminus, respectively.

Knockdown (RNAi) transgenic poplar plants exhibited tolerance to salt stress and drought stress compared to wild
type plants. The RNAi lines showed increased shoot branching phenotypes that lead to gain fresh weight. The RNAi
lines exhibited increased expression of genes related to auxin signaling, while decreased expression of genes

involved in cytokinin signaling. Taken together, these results indicate that PagSAP11 represents a promising
candidate gene for engineering trees with improved stress tolerance, which would increase their growth.