ARABINOGALACTAN PROTEIN HAVING ACTIVITY OF IMPROVING TOLERANCE TO HEAT OR MOISTURE STRESS

摘要

It is intended to provide a gene encoding a protein having an activity of improving the tolerance against an environmental stress such as salt, moisture or heat stress, in particular, the tolerance to moisture stress; a protein having an activity of improving the tolerance against an environmental stress; a transgenic plant having an enhanced tolerance against an environmental stress and so on. By using a halophytic plant Salicomia europeae which has a strong activity of improving the tolerance against moisture stress and can grow even in a dry area with much salt accumulation, it is intended to isolate genes (cDNAs) participating in the salt-tolerance mechanism of Salicomia europeae. By a functional screening method with the use of an Escherichia coli gene expression system, genes participating in the salt-tolerance of Salicomia europeae are searched. As a result, it is found out that an arabinogalactan protein consisting of 427 amino acids and being partly homologous with a Fascilin-like arabinogalactan protein of Arabidopsis thaliana has a function of enhancing salt tolerance, moisture stress tolerance (sorbitol tolerance) and heat tolerance.