Increased tolerance to oxidative stress in transgenic tobacco expressing a wheat oxalate oxidase gene via induction of antioxidant enzymes is mediated by H2O2

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) plays a key role in the regulation of plant responses to various environmental stresses and modulates the expression of related genes including those encoding antioxidant enzymes. A wheat oxalate oxidase (OxO) gene was transformed and expressed in tobacco for production of H2O2. The transgenic plants exhibited enhanced OxO activities and H2O2 concentrations, which was blocked by inhibitors of OxO. The transgenic plants showed increased tolerance to methyl viologen (MV) or high light-induced oxidative stress in both short-time and long-time tests by measuring their maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII (F-v/F-m), ion leakage and malondialdehyde. Higher activities and transcripts of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase) were observed in the transgenic plants compared to their wild-type controls under normal growth conditions. Pretreatments with inhibitors of OxO and scavenger of H2O2 blocked the increase of tolerance to MV-induced or high light-induced oxidative stress, as well as the induction of antioxidant enzyme activities. Pretreatments with H2O2 increased tolerance to oxidative stresses and antioxidant enzyme activities. It is suggested that H2O2 produced by OxO in the transgenic tobacco plants triggers the signaling pathways to upregulate expressions of antioxidant enzyme genes, which in turn results in the increase of tolerance to MV-induced and high light-induced oxidative stresses.