| dc.description.abstract | Water stress exists in most sugarcane cultivation areas, which are not supported by
irrigation system and have low rain precipitation. Better understanding of physiological
and
biochemical mechanism, underlying
plants response
to water
stress, have
been
achieved
to develop
drought-tolerant plants by biotechnology approach. To survive
and
grow
normally,
plants
use
a
range
of
strategies
to
cope
the
water
stress
such
as
changes
in
gene expression and accumulation of organic compound called compatible solutes.
Observation of drought stress response in sugarcane found the presence of a droughtinducible
protein called SoDip22 and that the expression was
induced by drought stress
and
ABA
hormone
treatments.
However,
the
function
of
this
drought-inducible
protein
has
not been elucidated and only suggested that the protein may play an important role
in
maintenance
of
water
molecule
during
water
deficit
state.
Biochemical
studies
on
the
drought-tolerance
mechanism
have
shown
that
nontoxic
small
compound
of
compatible
solute
accumulated
during
water
deficit
condition.
Genetic
engineering
of
glycine
betaine
(GB),
acting
as
a
compatible
solute,
has
been
applied
for
enhancement
of
water
stress
tolerance.
In sugarcane, bacterial betA
gene
encodes
for
choline
dehydrogenase
(CDH)
has
successfully
introduced
and
resulted
in
the
transgenic
drought-tolerance
sugarcane.
The
CDH
converts
choline
into
betaine
aldehyde,
which
is
then
converted
to
GB.
The
over-
expression of betA gene increased GB contents that act as an osmoprotectant and help
sugarcane acclimate in water deficit condition. This chapter reports the development of
biotechnology for drought-tolerant sugarcane. | en_US |
