Expression of the Arabidopsis vacuolar H + -pyrophosphatase gene AVP1 in peanut to improve drought and salt tolerance

The Arabidopsis gene AVP1 encodes an H + -pyrophosphatase that functions as a proton pump at the vacuolar membranes, generating a proton gradient across vacuolar membranes, which serves as the driving force for many secondary transporters on vacuolar membranes such as Na + /H + -antiporters. Overexpression of AVP1 could improve drought tolerance and salt tolerance in transgenic plants, suggesting a possible way in improving drought and salt tolerance in crops. The AVP1 was therefore introduced into peanut by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Analysis of AVP1 -expressing peanut indicated that AVP1 -overexpression in peanut could improve both drought and salt tolerance in greenhouse and growth chamber conditions, as AVP1 -overexpressing peanuts produced more biomass and maintained higher photosynthetic rates under both drought and salt conditions. In the field, AVP1 -overexpressing peanuts also outperformed wild-type plants by having higher photosynthetic rates and producing higher yields under low irrigation conditions.