| Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid, ascorbate, AsA) is an important molecule for both plants and animals. Ascorbate has many functions and is involved in cell division and growth, photosynthesis, flowering, and scavenges reactive oxygen species. Several studies have shown positive effects of vitamin C on the tolerance to abiotic stress in plants, but not much is known about its metabolism and regulation in crop plants. In this work, previously developed Arabidopsis lines over-expressing genes of the myo-inositol pathway were found to display enhanced biomass and tolerance to abiotic stresses including cold, heat, salt, and pyrene, a polycyclic aromatic pollutant. Studies of vitamin C throughout the development of rice plants (Oryza sativa) did not exist before this work, so basal levels of AsA were determined for several accessions, genetic backgrounds, and developmental stages. Multiple high AsA rice lines were developed via over-expression of genes in the inositol pathway to AsA. These high AsA rice lines were able to germinate and showed enhanced growth and health when exposed to cold, salt, and drought conditions compared to the wild type. Through this work, we provide knowledge in the metabolism of AsA in rice during development and across multiple accessions as well as evidence of abiotic stress tolerance in high AsA Arabidopsis and rice plants. |
