Allene oxide cyclase from Camptotheca acuminata improves tolerance against low temperature and salt stress in tobacco and bacteria.

Allene oxide cyclase (AOC, E 5.3.99.6) is an essential enzyme in jasmonate (JA) biosynthetic pathway. An AOC gene (defined as CaAOC, Database Accession No. AY863428) had been isolated from Camptotheca acuminata in previous work. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis indicated that mRNA expression of CaAOC was induced by salt stress (120 mM NaCl) and low temperature (4 degrees C). In order to further investigate the role of AOC gene in the processes, CaAOC was introduced into tobacco via Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and the transgenic lines were subjected to the examination of tolerance against salt stress and low temperature. Under salt stress, the chlorophyll content in transgenic tobacco was higher than that of in the wild plants. The electrolyte leakage test revealed that transgenic tobacco plants were more resistant to low temperature over control. Furthermore, 5'-truncated CaAOC was inserted into pET30 and then expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21DE3 (pLysS). Interestingly, the transformants could grow on 2YT agar containing 400 mM NaCl. Although these mechanisms are not clear yet, this study suggested that CaAOC could not only be a potential target gene in the engineering of plants and bacteria for improved endurance against salt stress, but also be quite useful in enhancing plant tolerance to cold.