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Although glutathione S-transferases (GST, EC 2.5.1.18) are involved in response to abiotic stress, limited information is available regarding gene function in tomato. In this study, a GST gene from tomato, designated LeGSTU2, was cloned and functionally characterized. Expression profile analysis results showed that it was expressed in roots and flowers, and the transcription was induced by salt, osmotic, and heat stress. The gene was then introduced to Arabidopsis by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants were normal in terms of growth and maturity compared with wild-type plants. Transgenic plants also showed an enhanced resistance to salt and osmotic stress induced by NaCl and mannitol. The increased tolerance of transgenic plants was correlated with the changes in proline, malondialdehyde and antioxidative emzymes activities. Our results indicated that the gene from tomato plays a positive role in improving tolerance to salinity and drought stresses in Arabidopsis.

The 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS; EC 2.5.1.19) is a key enzyme in the shikimate pathway for the production of aromatic amino acids and chorismate-derived secondary metabolites in plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It is also the target of the broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate. Natural glyphosate resistance is generally thought to occur within microorganisms in a strong selective pressure condition. Rahnella aquatilis strain GR20, an antagonist against pathogenic agrobacterial strains of grape crown gall, was isolated from the rhizosphere of grape in glyphosate-contaminated vineyards. A novel gene encoding EPSPS was identified from the isolated bacterium by complementation of an Escherichia coli auxotrophic aroA mutant. The EPSPS, named AroA(R. aquatilis), was expressed and purified from E. coli, and key kinetic values were determined. The full-length enzyme exhibited higher tolerance to glyphosate than the E. coli EPSPS (AroA(E. coli)), while retaining high affinity for the substrate phosphoenolpyruvate. Transgenic plants of AroA(R. aquatilis) were also observed to be more resistant to glyphosate at a concentration of 5 mM than that of AroA(E. coli). To probe the sites contributing to increased tolerance to glyphosate, mutant R. aquatilis EPSPS enzymes were produced with the c-strand of subdomain 3 and the f-strand of subdomain 5 (Thr38Lys, Arg40Val, Arg222Gln, Ser224Val, Ile225Val, and Gln226Lys) substituted by the corresponding region of the E. coli EPSPS. The mutant enzyme exhibited greater sensitivity to glyphosate than the wild type R. aquatilis EPSPS with little change of affinity for its first substrate, shikimate-3-phosphate (S3P) and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP). The effect of the residues on subdomain 5 on glyphosate resistance was more obvious.