Characterization of Arabitol Dehyrogenase in Transplastomic Plants

Arabitol is a five-carbon polyol, it is produced by osmophilic yeast species. It has been studied extensively, that accumulation of arabitol in cell takes place under stress conditions in yeast and other fungal species suggesting it protects cell from drought and salinity stress.In yeast, arabitol dehydrogenase found responsible for the production of arabitol from ribulose-5-phosphate. All plants synthesize ribulose-5-phosphate via pentose pathway in chloroplasts. The result of this study suggests that this gene could be expressed in crop plants to withstand abiotic stresses.

The author has completed his Master's in Analytical Chemistry from Agriculture University Faisalabad, Pakistan. After M.Sc he has done M.Phil Biotechnology from Quiad-I-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan. Currently he is working as Lecturer at Department of Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Government College University Faisalabad,Pakistan.