GM Strawberries Tolerant to Salt Stress

A group of researchers from India successfully developed transgenic strawberry lines tolerant to salt stress. The lines were modified to express the gene coding for the protein osmotin. Osmotin is induced by salt, water and low temperature stresses and has also been shown to possess anti-fungal activity. Scientists hypothesized that osmotin provides osmotolerance either by facilitating the compartmentalization of solutes or by being involved in the metabolic alterations during osmotic adjustment.

Genetic limitations, such as strawberry's polyploid nature and its high heterozygosity, complicate breeding efforts. Strawberry is an octaploid, meaning that it has eight sets of homologous chromosomes.

The transgenic lines were found to be stable in successive generations. Compared to their non-GM counterparts, the transgenic lines were found to contain enhanced levels of proline (amino acid involved in osmotic stress response), chlorophyll and total soluble proteins. The growth pattern of the GM lines showed no abnormality, except that their growth rate is slower than other plants.

The article published by the journal Plant Science is available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TBH-4RMW9P1-2&_user=6533655&_rdoc=1&
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