Boron induced expression of some stress-related genes in tomato

Boron (B) is a potential environmental toxicant for plants under excessive conditions. To understand the molecular stress response involved in high B exposure, we focused on the transcript accumulation of three stress-related genes: Hsp90, MT2 and GR1. Transcript accumulations were determined on B-stressed tomato plants by using a quantitative real-time PCR technique. Tomato seedlings were exposed to B ranging from 80 to 5120 μM for 24 h in nutrient solution. Root and shoot transcript accumulations were assessed. Results showed that the genes were over-expressed in B-stressed tomato. The highest relative fold change value was measured on GR1 for both root and shoot (8–10 and 30–34-fold increases, respectively), indicating the activation of the oxidative stress enzyme to tolerate B-stress as an early response. The activation of these genes could be a protection mechanism against to B stress.

► Although Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient for plants, excessive of B is toxic.
► Stress-related proteins Hsp90, Mt, Gr- are activated in tomato under excessive B.
► In addition to the B transporters, these proteins are players to regulate B homeostasis.