Drought Resistance of Arabidopsis thaliana expressing CBF2 gene in Brachypodium distachyon

The Arabidopsis thaliana expressing CBF2 gene in Brachypodium distachyon was used as the experimental material. The response of the germination rate of transgenic A. thaliana seeds and seedlings growth to drought was analyzed by simulated mannitol osmotic stress, and the drought resistance of the mature seedlings was detected by pot experiments. Results showed the seed germination rate declined with the increase of the osmotic pressure, and it become significant when it reached -0.62 MPa. The germination rate of transgenic seed was slightly higher than wild seeds, but the difference was not significant. When the osmotic pressure was higher than -0.37 MPa, the root length increment significantly reduced with the increase of stress intensity, and the root length increment of transgenic plants was significantly higher than wild A. thaliana. The survival rate of wild A. thaliana was 11.7%, while the average survival rate of transgenic plants was 41.6% when the A. thaliana seedlings was dealing with drought stress for 25 days. POD and SOD activity of transgenic A. thaliana was significantly higher than wild plants, and MDA content and relative electrical conductivity were significantly lower than wild plants with the extension of drought stress time. Our results suggested that the CBF2 gene in B. distachyon can significantly enhanced the drought resistance of transgenic A. thaliana seedlings and mature seedlings.