Enhanced drought tolerance by expression of hvDhn5 gene in poplar

We transferred Dhn5 (dehydrin5) gene from barley to poplar to determine the effect of its expression on the transgenic poplars. The results from northern blot analysis showed that the expression level of gene varied among the transgenic lines. During their culture on tissue culture media, the transgenic poplars formed vigorous growing callus in the presence of 5% PEG. When the transgenic poplars were growing in pots and witheld watering, they stayed much healthier than nontransgenic poplars. The transgenic poplars showed higher rates of photosynthetic rates, stomatal conductance and evaporation rates under the drought stress, although there was no significant difference in soil water content within the treatments. The relative electrical conductivity of the transgenic poplars after 20% PEG treatment was lower than that of nontransgenic poplars. The results provide evidence that the expression of hvDhn5 gene conferred drought tolerance in the transgenic poplars.