Overexpression of Rice NAC Gene SNAC1 Improves Drought and Salt Tolerance by Enhancing Root Development and Reducing Transpiration Rate in Transgenic Cotton

The SNAC1 gene belongs to the stress-related NAC superfamily of transcription factors. It was identified from rice and overexpressed in cotton cultivar YZ1 by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. SNAC1-overexpressing cotton plants showed more vigorous growth, especially in terms of root development, than the wild-type plants in the presence of 250 mM NaCl under hydroponic growth conditions. The content of proline was enhanced but the MDA content was decreased in the transgenic cotton seedlings under drought and salt treatments compared to the wild-type. Furthermore, SNAC1-overexpressing cotton plants also displayed significantly improved tolerance to both drought and salt stresses in the greenhouse. The performances of the SNAC1-overexpressing lines under drought and salt stress were significantly better than those of the wild-type in terms of the boll number. During the drought and salt treatments, the transpiration rate of transgenic plants significantly decreased in comparison to the wild-type, but the photosynthesis rate maintained the same at the flowering stage in the transgenic plants. These results suggested that overexpression of SNAC1 improve more tolerance to drought and salt in cotton through enhanced root development and reduced transpiration rates.