The flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase gene from the Antarctic moss Pohlia nutans is involved in regulating oxidative and salt stress tolerance.

Flavonoids are the important secondary metabolites. They are thought to play an important role in plant adaptation to terrestrial environment. However, the downstream branching pathway of flavonoids in bryophytes, which are the most ancient of terrestrial plants, remains unclear. Here, we cloned a flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase gene (PnF3'H) from the Antarctic moss Pohlia nutans and studied its function in plant stress tolerance. The Arabidopsis with overexpressing PnF3'H (AtOE) were constructed. The AtOE plants had more lateral roots and higher activities of antioxidant enzymes than the wild-type plants under oxidative stress. Meanwhile, the gene expression levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers (i.e., AtCAT3, AtFeSOD1, and AtCu-ZnSOD3) were upregulated in the AtOE plants, and the transcription levels of ROS producing enzyme genes were significantly downregulated. The AtOE plans showed increased sensitivity to NaCl stress or abscisic acid (ABA) treatment during seed germination and early root development. Furthermore, several stress-resistant genes in the ABA signaling pathway were also downregulated in the AtOE plants when compared with the wild-type plants. These results suggested that PnF3'H participates in regulating the oxidative tolerance and ABA sensitivity to enable P. nutans to adapt to polar environments.