HAL1 mediate salt adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana

The yeast HAL1 gene was introduced into Arabidopsis thaliana by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation with vacuum infiltration under the control of CaMV 35S promoter. Thirty-three individual kanamycin resistant plants were obtained from 75,000 seeds. Southern blotting analysis indicated that HAL1 gene had been integrated into all of the transgenic plants' genomes. The copy number of HAL1 gene in transgenic plants was mostly 1 to 3 by Southern analysis. Phenotypes of transgenic plants have no differences with wild type plants. Several samples of transformants were self-pollinated, and progenies from transformed and non-transformed plants (controls) were evaluated for salt tolerance and gene expression. Measurement of concentrations of intracellular K+ and Na+ showed that transgenic lines were able to retain less Na+ than that of the control under salt stress. Results from different tests indicated the expression of HAL1 gene promotes a higher level of salt tolerance in vivo in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants.