Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026

A Flexible Low Cost Hydroponic System for Assessing Plant Responses to Small Molecules in Sterile Conditions
Published on: August 25, 2018
Increased salt and drought tolerance by D-ononitol production in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana
Chulhyun Ahn1, Uhnmee Park, Phun Bum Park
1Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, The University of Suwon, Hwasungsi 445-743, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
The methylation of myo-inositol forms O-methyl inositol (D-ononitol) when plants are under abiotic stress in a reaction catalyzed by myo-inositol methyltransferase (IMT). D-Ononitol can serve as an osmoprotectant that prevents water loss in plants. We isolated the IMT cDNA from Glycine max and found by RT-PCR analysis that GmIMT transcripts are induced by drought and salinity stress treatments in the leaves of soybean seedlings. We confirmed the protein product of GmIMT and its substrate using a recombinant system in E. coli. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants over-expressing GmIMT displayed improved tolerance to dehydration stress treatment and to a lesser extent high salinity stress treatment. These results indicate that GmIMT is functional in heterologous Arabidopsis plants.
Related Concept Videos
Responses to Salt Stress
Responses to Drought and Flooding
Transgenic Plants
The first-ever transgenic plant was a tobacco plant developed in 1983 that showed resistance against the tobacco mosaic virus. Since then, many transgenic plants have been developed and commercialized for improving the agricultural, ornamental, and horticultural value of a crop plant. Transgenic...
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Transcription
Transcription is the process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA sequence by RNA polymerase. It is the first step in producing a protein from a gene sequence. Additionally, many other proteins and regulatory sequences are involved in the proper synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA). Regulation of transcription is responsible for the differentiation of all the different types of cells and often for the proper cellular response to environmental signals.
Transcription Can Produce Different Kinds...
Regulation of Transpiration by Stomata
