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Dehydrins are capable of conferring abiotic stress tolerance in plants. Few dehydrins have been characterized at the molecular and transgenic level in Brassica juncea. In the present study, two SK₂-type B. juncea dehydrin genes, BjDHN2 and BjDHN3, showed improved stress tolerance to salt and freezing stress in transgenic yeast. Semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that BjDHN2 and BjDHN3 were up-regulated by low temperature, drought, and salt stress, as well as exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) in B. juncea. Transgenic studies also showed that BjDHN2 and BjDHN3 increased tolerance to cold and salt stress in tobacco. These results indicate that the BjDHN2 and BjDHN3 genes exert a protective role on membranes and play a role in abiotic stresses.