Overexpression of HVA1 Enhances Drought and Heat Stress Tolerance in Triticum aestivum Doubled Haploid Plants

Plant responses to multiple environmental stresses include various signaling pathways that allow plant acclimation and survival. Amongst different stresses, drought and heat stress severely affect growth and productivity of wheat. HVA1, a member of the group 3 LEA protein, has been well known to provide protection against drought stress. However, its mechanism of action and its role in other stresses such as heat remain unexplored. In this study, doubled haploid (DH) wheat plants overexpressing the HVA1 gene were analyzed and found to be both drought-and heat stress-tolerant. The transcriptome analysis revealed the upregulation of transcription factors such as DREB and HsfA6 under drought and heat stress, respectively, which contribute toward the tolerance mechanism. Particularly under heat stress conditions, the transgenic plants had a lower oxidative load and showed enhanced yield. The overexpression lines were found to be ABA-sensitive, therefore suggesting the role of HsfA6 in providing heat tolerance via the ABA-mediated pathway. Thus, apart from its known involvement in drought stress, this study highlights the potential role of HVA1 in the heat stress signaling pathway. This can further facilitate the engineering of multiple stress tolerance in crop plants, such as wheat.