Functional Study of BpPP2C1 Revealed Its Role in Salt Stress in Betula platyphylla

Abstract

PP2C protein phosphatase family is one of the largest gene families in the plant genome. Many PP2C family members are involved in the regulation of abiotic stress. We found that <i>BpPP2C1</i> gene has highly up-regulated in root under salt stress in <i>Betula platyphylla</i>. Thus, transgenic plants of <i>Betula platyphylla</i> with overexpression and knockout of <i>BpPP2C1</i> gene were generated using a zygote transformation system. Under NaCl stress treatment, we measured the phenotypic traits of transgenic plants, chlorophyll-fluorescence parameters, peroxidase (POD) activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. We found that <i>BpPP2C1</i> overexpressed lines showed obvious salt tolerance, while <i>BpPP2C1</i> knocked out plants were sensitive to salt stress. Transcriptome analysis identified significantly amount of differentially expressed genes associated with salt stress in <i>BpPP2C1</i> transgenic lines, especially genes in abscisic acid signaling pathway, flavonoid biosynthetic pathway, oxidative stress and anion transport. Functional study of <i>BpPP2C1</i> in <i>Betula platyphylla</i> revealed its role in salt stress.