Functional Analysis Of A Sodium Transport Gene Expressed In Model And Crop Species
Date
2006
Authors
Jacobs, A.
Lunde, C.
Juttner, J.
Comis, A.
Drew, D.
Plett, D.
Tester, M.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Conference paper
Citation
Proceedings of the Plant & Animal Genomes XIV Conference, January 14-18, 2006
Statement of Responsibility
Conference Name
Plant & Animal Genomes Conference (14th : 2006 : San Diego, Calif.)
Abstract
Development of salinity tolerance in crop plants has remained elusive due to the multi-genic nature of the trait and its physiological complexity. Two major problems hampering efforts to produce salt-tolerant plants through expression of transgenes include: 1. Cell-types must respond individually to salt stress to minimise the amount of Na+ delivered to the shoot; and 2. Transgenes are typically expressed in plants constitutively, which is likely to be counter-productive to developing salt tolerance and means, in low-stress conditions, expensive metabolic processes may be active, thus reducing photosynthate available for grain production. To address these issues we have utilised GAL4 enhancer trap lines, inducible gene expression systems and Na+ transporter genes to develop high throughput approaches aimed at developing transgenic plants with altered levels of Na+ tolerance.