Comparative effects of glycinebetaine on the thermotolerance in codA- and BADH-transgenic tomato plants under high temperature stress.

KEY MESSAGE: We propose that codA tomato plants exhibited higher degrees of enhanced thermotolerance than BADH tomato plants, and H2O2 as a signaling molecule also plays an important role in heat resistance. Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH) and choline oxidase (COD) are key enzymes in glycinebetaine (GB) synthesis. In this study, two kinds of transgenic tomato plants, which were transformed with BADH gene and codA gene, respectively, were used to explore their thermotolerance. Our results showed that the levels of GB in leaves of the fourteen independent transgenic lines ranged from 1.9 μmol g-1 fresh weight to 3.4 μmol g-1 fresh weight, while GB was almost undetectable in leaves of WT plants. CO2 assimilation and photosystem II (PSII) photochemical activity in transgenic plants were more thermotolerant than WT plants, especially the codA-transgenic plants showed the most. Significant accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide anion radical (O2·-), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were more in WT plants than transgenic plants, while this accumulation in codA-transgenic plant was the least. Furthermore, the expression of the heat response genes and the accumulation of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) were found to be more in transgenic plants than that in WT plants during heat stress, as well as showing the most expression and accumulation of HSP70 in the codA-transgenic plants. Taken together, our results suggest that the enhanced thermotolerance in transgenic plants is due to the positive role of GB in response to heat stress. And interestingly, in addition to the major role of GB in codA-transgenic plants, H2O2 as a signaling molecule may also play an important role in heat resistance, leading to higher thermotolerance compared to BADH-transgenic plants.