AUTHOR=Mishra Pragya , Jain Ajay , Takabe Teruhiro , Tanaka Yoshito , Negi Manisha , Singh Nisha , Jain Neha , Mishra Vagish , Maniraj R. , Krishnamurthy S. L. , Sreevathsa Rohini , Singh Nagendra K. , Rai Vandna 

TITLE=Heterologous Expression of Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase-3 From Rice Confers Tolerance to Salinity Stress in E. coli and Arabidopsis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.00217

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2019.00217

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Among abiotic stresses, salt stress adversely affects growth and development in rice. Contrasting salt tolerant (CSR27), and salt sensitive (MI48) rice varieties provided information on an array of genes that may contribute for salt tolerance of rice. Earlier studies on transcriptome and proteome profiling led to the identification of salt stress-induced serine hydroxymethyltransferase-3 (<italic>SHMT3</italic>) gene. In the present study, the <italic>SHMT3</italic> gene was isolated from salt-tolerant (CSR27) rice. <italic>OsSHMT3</italic> exhibited salinity-stress induced accentuated and differential expression levels in different tissues of rice. <italic>OsSHMT3</italic> was overexpressed in <italic>Escherichia coli</italic> and assayed for enzymatic activity and modeling protein structure. Further, Arabidopsis transgenic plants overexpressing <italic>OsSHMT3</italic> exhibited tolerance toward salt stress. Comparative analyses of <italic>OsSHMT3 vis a vis</italic> wild type by ionomic, transcriptomic, and metabolic profiling, protein expression and analysis of various traits revealed a pivotal role of <italic>OsSHMT3</italic> in conferring tolerance toward salt stress. The gene can further be used in developing gene-based markers for salt stress to be employed in marker assisted breeding programs.</p><sec><title>HIGHLIGHTS</title><list list-type="simple" prefix-word="simple"><list-item><p>- The study provides information on mechanistic details of serine hydroxymethyl transferase gene for its salt tolerance in rice.</p></list-item></list></sec>