• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.325-332
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• 2015

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is now the second largest oilseed crop after soybean. Cold temperature tolerance is an important agronomic trait in winter rapeseed that determines the plant's ability to control below freezing temperatures. To improve cold tolerance of rapeseed plants, an expression vector containing an Barley Ice recrystallization inhibition protein (HvIRIP) cDNA driven by a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter was transferred into rapeseed plants. Transgenic expression of HvIRIP was proved by southern- and northern-blot analyses. The level of freezing tolerance of transgenic $T_3$ plants was found to be significantly greater than that of wild-type rapeseed plants by freezing assay. Proline accumulation during cold stress was also highly induced in the transgenic rapeseed plants. The transgenic plants exhibited considerable tolerance against oxidative damage induced by cold stress. Our results indicated that heterologous HvIRIP expression in transgenic rapeseed plants may induce several oxidative-stress responsive genes to protect from cold stress.