Heterologous Expression of the AtDREB1A Gene in Transgenic Peanut-Conferred Tolerance to Drought and Salinity Stresses

Research on genetic transformation in various crop plants using the DREB1A transcription factor has shown better abiotic stress tolerance in transgenic crops. The AtDREB1A transgenic peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. cv. GG 20), which was previously developed, was characterized in terms of its physio-biochemical, molecular and growth parameters. The tolerance of this transgenic peanut to drought and salinity stresses was evaluated at the seedling (18 days old) and maturity stages. Transgenic peanut lines showed improved tolerance to both stresses over wild-type, as observed by delayed and less severe wilting of leaves and by improved growth parameters that were correlated with physio-biochemical parameters such as proline content, total chlorophyll content, osmotic potential, electrolytic leakage and relative water content. The expression pattern of the AtDREB1A gene evaluated using qPCR at different time points demonstrated that transgene expression was induced within two hours of stress imposition. The better performance of transgenic AtDREB1A peanut at the seedling stage and the improved growth parameters were due to the expression of the transgene, which is a transcription factor, and the possible up-regulation of various stress-inducible, downstream genes in the signal transduction pathway under abiotic stress.