Open Access

ARTICLE

In vivo protective effect of late embryogenesis abundant protein (ApSK₃ dehydrin) on Agapanthus praecox to promote post-cryopreservation survival

TINGTING HUANG^1,#, SHAN DENG^2,#, JIANGYUAN SHENG¹, DI ZHANG^1,*

1 Department of Landscape Science and Engineering, School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
2 Institute for Agri-Food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, 201403, China

* Corresponding Author: DI ZHANG. Email:
# Authors contributed equally to this work

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plant Stress Tolerance)

BIOCELL 2022, 46(11), 2507-2515. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2022.021314

Received 08 January 2022; Accepted 11 April 2022; Issue published 07 July 2022

Abstract

Dehydrins (DHNs), as members of the late embryogenesis abundant protein family, play critical roles in the protection of seeds from dehydration and plant adaptation to multiple abiotic stresses. Vitrification is a basic method in plant cryopreservation and is characterized by forming a glassy state to prevent lethal ice crystals produced during cryogenic storage. In this study, ApSK₃ type DHN was genetically transformed into embryogenic calluses (EC) of Agapanthus praecox by overexpression (OE) and RNA interference (RNAi) techniques to evaluate the in vivo protective effect of DHNs during cryopreservation. The cell viability showed a completely opposite trend in OE and RNAi cell lines, the cell relative death ratio was decreased by 20.0% in ApSK₃-OE EC and significantly increased by 66.15% in ApSK₃-RNAi cells after cryopreservation. Overexpression of ApSK₃ increased the content of non-enzymatic antioxidants (AsA and GSH) and up-regulated the expression of CAT, SOD, POD, and GPX genes, while ApSK₃-RNAi cells decreased antioxidant enzyme activities and FeSOD, POD, and APX genes expression during cryopreservation. These findings suggest that ApSK₃ affects ROS metabolism through chelating metal ions (Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺), alleviates H₂O₂ and OH· excessive generation, activates the antioxidant system, and improves cellular REDOX balance and membrane lipid peroxidation damage of plant cells during cryopreservation. DHNs can effectively improve cell stress tolerance and have great potential for in vivo or in vitro applications in plant cryopreservation.

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