Genetic improvement of Basmati rice for salt and drought tolerance by regulated expression of a barley Hva1 cDNA

An HVAl gene from barley was introduced and expressed under the control of a constitutive or a stress-inducible promoter in a recalcitrant scented rice variety, Pusa Basmati 1 to increase the tolerance against abiotic stresses. Third generation (R2) transgenic plants, each harboring a single copy of intact transgene expression cassette, were tested for stress tolerance. Homozygous transformants were exposed to high salinity or drought stress. These transgenic lines showed increased stress tolerance in terms of cell integrity and growth after the imposed salt- and water-stress treatments, compared to the control plants. The results showed that high levels of LEA3 accumulation in the leaves of transgenic Pusa Basmati I rice plants might have conferred the significant increase in tolerance against drought and salt stress. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.