Inorganic pyrophosphorylase is essential in the hydrolysis of pyrophosphate
to inorganic phosphate during plant growth. Chinese scientists led by Rui He
of Shenyang Agricultural University and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, studied the transgenic rice overexpressing a soluble inorganic
pyrophosphatase gene, ThPP1, from salt cress (Thellungiella halophila) in
response to alkaline stress (AS).

Analysis showed that the transgenic lines revealed an enhanced tolerance to
AS compared to the wild type. A total of 379 differentially-expressed genes
were also found to be upregulated in the leaves of the transgenic lines.
Further analysis shows that the enhanced tolerance of the transgenic rice to
AS seems to be associated with the upregulation of the osmotic
stress-related genes.

This study suggests that the ThPP1 gene plays an important regulatory role
in conferring the tolerance of the transgenic rice to AS, and is a candidate
in breeding for crop cultivation for alkaline tolerance.



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