The average soil salt content was 0.66%. The results showed that the biomass per plant and the number of tillers per plant of transgenic lines were significantly higher than those of the wild type Jimai 19. The seedling emergence rate, effective number of tillers per plant, grain number per plant, and grain weight per plant of the transgenic lines
DNA Damage inhibitor were significantly greater than those of Jimai 19. The spike length of transgenic lines was significantly less than that of Jimai 19. There were no significant differences in plant height, grain number per spike, or 1000-grain weight between the transgenic lines and the wild type (Table 2). Although the spike length of the transgenic lines was significantly lower, the grain number per spike was not significantly different between transgenic lines and the wild type. Because of the significantly higher number of effective tillers per
plant find more in the transgenic lines, the grain number per plant of the transgenic lines was more than 20% greater than that of Jimai 19, and the grain weight per plant and the biomass per plant were also significantly greater in the transgenic lines. As a result, the salt tolerance of the transgenic lines was greater than that of the wild type Jimai 19 throughout the growing season when the plants were grown in natural fields. This difference is reflected primarily in the increased values per plant of number of effective tillers, biomass, grain number, and grain weight of the transgenic lines. As indicated in Table 2, the overexpression of the GmDREB1 gene improves
the salt tolerance of wheat at the germination stage, the seedling stage and throughout the growing season. Because the salt tolerance of the transgenic line T349 was slightly higher than that of T378, we selected the transgenic line T349 for further investigation of physiological and protein responses to the salt stress. After 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 days of NaCl treatment, the first leaves of T349 and Jimai 19 seedling samples were harvested Smoothened for measurement of the betaine, proline, and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents and relative electrolyte leakage. Although proline and glycine betaine are critical for osmoprotection, there were no significant differences in glycine betaine and proline contents between T349 and Jimai 19 after 0 and 1 day of NaCl treatment. After 3, 5, and 7 days of NaCl treatment, glycine betaine, and proline contents were significantly higher in T349 than in Jimai 19 (Fig. 3). The MDA content and relative electrolyte leakage are associated with the oxidization of the cell membrane. There were no significant differences in MDA content or relative electrolyte leakage between T349 and Jimai 19 after 0, 1, and 3 days of NaCl treatment.