| Drought and high salinity are abiotic conditions that incur water stress in plants. These conditions are becoming increasingly important in turfgrass management due to more regulated water use. Creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris L. Huds. cv Penncross) transformed with the mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase (mtlD) gene was evaluated for its ability to withstand drought and salinity conditions imparted by mannitol accumulation catalyzed by the mtlD enzyme. First, growth measurements were taken from the plants under drought and saline conditions in the greenhouse, including clipping mass, root mass, mass of the thatch layer, and final aboveground tissue mass. Next, the plants were assessed for accumulation of mannitol, the product of the reaction catalyzed by the mtlD enzyme using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Finally, the presence of the mtlD enzyme was evaluated in the transformed plants using western blotting techniques to see if the mRNA message was being translated into protein. Growth measurements indicated no increased stress resistance; no mannitol accumulation was detected by HPLC; the mtlD enzyme was not detected by western blots. |
