TRANSGENICS FOR

ABIOTIC STRESS

AMIT BALLANI
OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION
 ABIOTIC STRESSES
 TYPES
 WHY TRANSGENICS ?
 SUCCESS STORIES
 CASE EXAMPLES
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES
ABIOTIC STRESS- INTRODUCTION
 Abiotic stresses, notably extremes in temperature,
photon irradiance, and supplies of water and
inorganic solutes, frequently limit growth and
productivity of major crop species.
 In addition,more than one abiotic stress can occur
at one time. For example, high temperature and
high photonirradiance often accompany low water
supply, which can in turn be exacerbated by subsoil
mineral toxicities that constrain root growth.
THE FOUR MAJOR ABIOTIC STRESSES:

 Salinity, ( SALTS AND IONS)

 Heavy metals,
 Temperature and
 Drought,
cause drastic yield reduction in most crops. Plants
have complex and dynamic systems of response
to stress stimuli which are much more intricate. 
ABIOTIC STRESS- PLANT RESPONSE
ABIOTIC STRESS- INTRODUCTION CONTD..
 Furthermore, one abiotic stress can decrease a
plant’s ability to resist a second stress. For
example, low water supply can make a plant
more susceptible to damage from high irradiance
due to the plant’s reduced ability t oreoxidize
NADPH and thus maintain an ability to dissipate
energy delivered to the Photosynthetic light-
harvesting reaction Centers.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT??
 Global food productivity shows a decreasing trend due to
accumulating negative effects of environmental stresses.
 Cold, salinity and drought are among the major stresses

that adversely affect plant growth and productivity. These

abiotic stresses represent in fact the principal cause of crop
failure world wide, dipping average yields for major crops
by more than 50%.

 Minimizing these losses is a major concern for all nations in

order to cope with the increasing food requirements.
Therefore, it is clear that there is an urgent need to increase
abiotic stress tolerance in plants.
GENETIC ENGINEERING – A FEASIBLE SOLUTION

 Crop productivity could be increased by

introducing such qualities as disease resistance
and increased drought tolerance to the crops.


Genes from naturally drought-resistant plants can

be used to increase drought tolerance in many
crop varieties growing in dry climates so that
crops shall use water as efficiently as possible.
ABIOTIC STRESS- HOW TO COPE WITH IT?

 Physiology and biochemistry provide approach to

identifying genes for crop improvement.

 In some cases, knowledge of biochemical

pathways can lead to the identification of
candidate genes, and the subsequent transgenic
plants behave as expected
STRATEGY:
GENETIC ENGINEERING FOR ABIOTIC STRESS

 All the abiotic stresses such as drought, low temperature , salinity and alkalinity

adversely influence growth and induce sensensence , leading to cell death and

last reduced crop yield.

 This causing cellular water deficit or osmotic stress.

 Against stress low molecular weight compound called osmoprotectant

(inorganic ions, polyols, proline, glycine betain, HSPs, SOD

etc….)accumulated.

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 Drought triggers a wide array of physiological responses in
plants, and affects the activity of a large number of genes.
 Gene expression experiments have identified several hundred
genes which are either induced or repressed during stress.
 The plant’s response to stress is accompanied by the activation
of genes involved in the perception of stress and in the
transmission of the stress signal.
1. Genes that encode proteins that protect the cells from the effects of
desiccation.
2. Genes activated by drought is comprised by regulatory proteins that further
regulate the transduction of the stress signal and modulate gene expression.

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COMMON PLANT TRANSFORMATION
TECHNIQUES.

 Agrobacterium mediated gene transfer - transfer of DNA from bacteria to plants.

 Biolistics - rapidly propelled tungsten or gold micro projectiles coated with DNA are
blasted into cells.
 Electroporation - Electrical impulses are used to increase membrane and cell wall
permeability to DNA contained in the surrounding solution.
 Microinjection - Injection of DNA directly into the cell nucleus using an ultrafine
needle.
 Poly-ethylene glycol mediated gene transfer- plant cell protoplasts treated with PEG
are momentarily permeable, allowing uptake of DNA from the surrounding solution.

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AGROBACTERIUM MEDIATED
PARTICLE BOMBARDMENT
 CASE STUDIES
TABLE :TRANSGENIC PRODUCED FOR VARIOUS
ABIOTIC STRESS

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CONCLUSION
1. The use of transgenes to improve the tolerance of crops to abiotic stresses remains an
attractive option.
2. Options targeting multiple gene regulation appear better than targeting single genes.
3. An important issue to address is how the tolerance to specific abiotic stress is assessed, and
whether the achieved tolerance compares to existing tolerance.
4. The biological cost of production of different metabolites to cope with stress and their
effect on yield should be properly evaluated.
5. A well focused approach combining the molecular, physiological and metabolic aspects of
abiotic stress tolerance is required for bridging the knowledge gaps between short- and
long-term effects of the genes and their products, and between the molecular or cellular
expression of the genes and the whole plant phenotype under stress.

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THANK YOU