Wheat vacuolar H+-ATPase subunit B cloning and its involvement in salt tolerance.

Wheat vacuolar H+-ATPases (V-ATPase) subunit B, named TaVB, was isolated from the salt-tolerant wheat RH8706-49 and used to transform Arabidopsis plants. TaVB-expressed Arabidopsis has a higher germination rate, root length, V-H+-ATPase activity, and overall salt tolerance than the wild type, indicating that expression of the gene can affect salt tolerance of the transgenic plants. Under salt stress, intracellular Na+ levels in transgenic plants are significantly lower than the control. These results suggest that expression of the wheat TaVB gene may enhance plant tolerance to salt stress.