Overexpression of Cassava Enhances the Salt and IAA Tolerance of Transgenic .

Annexins are a superfamily of soluble calcium-dependent phospholipid-binding proteins that have considerable regulatory effects in plants, especially in response to adversity and stress. The gene has been reported to play a significant role in various abiotic stress responses. In our study, the cDNA of an annexin gene highly similar to was isolated from the cassava genome and named . It contains domains specific to annexins, including four annexin repeat sequences (I-IV), a Ca-binding sequence, Ca-independent membrane-binding-related tryptophan residues, and a salt bridge-related domain. is localized in the cell membrane and cytoplasm, and it was found to be preferentially expressed in the storage roots of cassava. The overexpression of reduced the sensitivity of transgenic to various Ca, NaCl, and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) concentrations. The expression of the stress resistance-related gene and auxin signaling pathway-related genes and in transgenic was significantly increased under salt stress, while the Malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly lower than that of the control. These results indicate that the gene may increase the salt tolerance of transgenic via the IAA signaling pathway.