Over-expression of OsUGE-1 altered raffinose level and tolerance to abiotic stress but not morphology in Arabidopsis

OsUGE-1 is known to be induced by various abiotic stresses, but its exact function in plants is unclear. In the present study, OsUGE-1 was over-expressed in Arabidopsis, transgenic plants conferred tolerance to salt, drought and freezing stress without altering plant morphology. In addition, transgenic plants showed a higher level, of the soluble sugar raffinose than did wild-type plants. Our results suggest that elevated level of raffinose with over-expressed OsUGE-1 resulted in enhanced tolerance to abiotic stress. Thus, the gene may be applied to improve tolerance to abiotic stress in crops. (C) 2007 Etsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.