Arabidopsis PLAT-Domain Protein1 Promotes Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Tobacco

Plant growth and crop yield can be severely affected by abiotic and biotic stresses. Proteins from the PLAT-plant-stress protein family, which are present in both monocot and dicot plant species, contain a single PLAT (Polycystin, Lipoxygenase, Alpha-toxin and Triacylglycerol lipase) domain which is hypothesized to promote tolerance towards stress responses. However, limited data is available for PLAT-plant-stress family members.

Researchers Eric van der Graaff and Thomas Roitsch, from both the University of Graz in Austria and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, studied the function of the Arabidopsis PLAT-plant-stress protein AtPLAT1 in tobacco. AtPLAT1 caused increased tolerance to various abiotic stresses in tobacco. The transgenics also developed faster under normal conditions. However, the overexpression of AtPLAT1 reduced the transgenics' tolerance to biotic stresses. This suggests its involvement in regulating abiotic and biotic stress responses.

Results showed that AtPLAT1 functions as a regulator of abiotic stress tolerance and plant growth, which would be crucial in developing plants with improved abiotic stress tolerance.

For more information on the study, read the full article on Springer Link.