Abstract:

Southern blot and RT-PCR were used to detect vgb-transgenic Populus alba×P. glandulosa. The results showed that the vgb gene had been integrated into the genome of the poplar and had expressed at transcription level. A flooding resistant test was performed with transgenic poplars and the non-transgenic control in greenhouse. With increasing flooding treatment time, the death rate was increased, however the death rate in transgenic plants was lower than that in the control plants. In seventeen days after waterlogging treatment, the control plant death rate was 66.67%, while that in transgenic plants was under 50.00%. Among them, the death rate in transgenic line of T81 was the lowest, with 25.00%. Chlorophyll content was higher and MDA content was lower in leaves of the transgenic plants compared with that in the control plants under the flooding treatment. The growth inhibition degree of transgenic plants was lower than control plants under waterlogging stress. The results suggested that under flooding stress, the expression of vgb gene raised chlorophyll accumulation of poplar plants, promoted the growth of transgenic plants, and increased tolerance of the transgenic poplar to waterlogging.

Key words: vgb gene, waterlogging stress, Populus alba×, P. glandulosa