Wheat Dehydrin K-Segments Ensure Bacterial Stress Tolerance, Antiaggregation and Antimicrobial Effects

Marwa Drira, Walid Saibi, Imen Amara, Khaled Masmoudi, Moez Hanin, Faiçal Brini

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Dehydrins are a group of plant proteins that have been shown to be involved in the tolerance of various abiotic stresses such as dehydration, salinity, and low temperature. We have previously shown that the K-segments of the wheat dehydrin DHN-5 are essential for the protection of enzyme activities in vitro. In this study, we further investigate the role of the K-segments in the growth of Escherichia coli under various stresses, and we tested their antibacterial and antifungal activities. Our results showed that the truncated forms of DHN-5 containing the two K-segments enhanced tolerance of E. coli against diverse stresses by protecting proteins against aggregation. In addition, we demonstrated that the K-segments have antibacterial and antifungal activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Based on these results, we propose that the K-segments may play a protective role in plants not only under abiotic stress conditions but also most likely during defense mechanisms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3310-3321
Number of pages12
JournalApplied Biochemistry and Biotechnology
Volume175
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 1 2015

Keywords

  • Abiotic stresses
  • Dehydrin
  • Growth inhibition
  • K-segments
  • Protein expression
  • Wheat

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Bioengineering
  • Biochemistry
  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
  • Molecular Biology

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