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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #79540
Title: RESPONSE OF DEHYDRINS TO DROUGHT, LOW TEMPERATURE, AND ABA TREATMENT IN WHOLE PLANTS AND CELL SUSPENSION CULTURES OF BLUEBERRY

Author
item PANTA, GANESH - HORT DEPT, ATHENS, GA
item PARMENTIER, CECILE - UNIV OF NANCY, FRANCE
item Rowland, Lisa

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/16/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Previously three dehydrins of 65, 60, and 14 kD were identified as the predominant proteins present in cold acclimated blueberry floral buds. Levels were shown to increase with cold acclimation and decrease with deacclimation. Recently, cDNA clone encoding the 60 kD dehydrin was isolated and sequenced. This clone hybridizes to messages likely to encode all 65, 60, and 14 kD dehydrins. In the present study expression of dehydrins was examined in blueberry cultivars in response to drought and low temperature treatment and in blueberry cell suspension cultures in response to low temperature and ABA treatment. For drought stress experiment, potted plants of blueberry cultivars with different drought tolerances were not watered for 32 days. Relative shoot water content (RSWC) was measured in cultivars to monitor level of dehydration stress. During 32 days of drought stress, RSWC dropped to 51% in the drought sensitive cultivar whereas RSWC remained at 90% in the drought tolerant cultivar. For cold stress experiments, potted plants of cultivars with different chilling requirements and levels of cold hardiness were kept at 4C for five weeks. Cell suspension cultures were held at 4C for up to two weeks. For ABA experiment, ABA concentrations ranging from 10-3 to 10-7 M were used. Dehydrins were monitored in response to various treatments at RNA and proteins levels. A previously uncharacterized 30 kD dehydrin was found to be the major low temperature and ABA-responsive protein in cell suspension cultures.