AUTHOR=Li Yanmei , Wang Rui , Hu Zongliang , Li Hongcai , Lu Shizhan , Zhang Juanjuan , Lin Yongjun , Zhou Fei 

TITLE=Expression of a Codon-Optimized dsdA Gene in Tobacco Plastids and Rice Nucleus Confers D-Serine Tolerance

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2016.00640

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2016.00640

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>D-serine is toxic to plants. D-serine ammonia lyase, which is encoded by the <italic>dsdA</italic> gene, can attenuate this toxicity with high specificity. In the present study, we explored the function of codon-optimized <italic>dsdA</italic> with tobacco plastids and rice nuclear transformation system. It was shown that <italic>dsdA</italic> gene was site-specifically integrated into the tobacco plastid genome and displayed a high level of expression. Genetic analysis of the progenies showed that <italic>dsdA</italic> gene is maternally inherited and confers sufficient D-serine resistance in tobacco. The effective screening concentrations of D-serine for seed germination, callus regeneration and foliar spray were 10, 30, and 75 mM, respectively. In addition, calluses from homozygous transgenic rice lines also showed significant tolerance to D-serine (up to 75 mM). Our study proves the feasibility of using <italic>dsdA</italic> gene as a selectable marker in both plastid and nuclear transformation systems.</p>