Overexpression of the rice Osmyb4 gene increases chilling and freezing tolerance of Arabidopsis thaliana plants

A unique bZIP transcription factor imparting multiple stress tolerance in Rice

BACKGROUND

Rice productivity is adversely affected by environmental stresses. Transcription factors (TFs), as the regulators of gene expression, are the key players contributing to stress tolerance and crop yield. Histone gene binding protein-1b (OsHBP1b) is a TF localized within the Saltol QTL in rice. Recently, we have reported the characterization of OsHBP1b in relation to salinity and drought tolerance in a model system tobacco. In the present study, we over-express the full-length gene encoding OsHBP1b in the homologous system (rice) to assess its contribution towards multiple stress tolerance and grain yield.

RESULTS

We provide evidence to show that transgenic rice plants over-expressing OsHBP1b exhibit better survival and favourable osmotic parameters under salinity stress than the wild type counterparts. These transgenic plants restricted reactive oxygen species accumulation by exhibiting high antioxidant enzyme activity (ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase), under salinity conditions. Additionally, these transgenic plants maintained the chlorophyll concentration, organellar structure, photosynthesis and expression of photosynthesis and stress-related genes even when subjected to salinity stress. Experiments conducted for other abiotic stresses such as drought and high temperature revealed improved tolerance in these transgenic plants with better root and shoot growth, better photosynthetic parameters, and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, in comparison with WT. Further, the roots of transgenic lines showed large cortical cells and accumulated a good amount of callose, unlike the WT roots, thus enabling them to penetrate hard soil and prevent the entry of harmful ions in the cell.

CONCLUSION

Collectively, our results show that rice HBP1b gene contributes to multiple abiotic stress tolerance through several molecular and physiological pathways and hence, may serve as an important gene for providing multiple stress tolerance and improving crop yield in rice.

The constitutive expression of alfalfa MsMYB2L enhances salinity and drought tolerance of Arabidopsis thaliana

MYB-type transcription factors are known to participate in the response of plants to a number of stress agents. MsMYB2L is an alfalfa member of this large gene family. Its transcription in alfalfa seedlings was found to be rapidly and strongly induced by salinity, moisture deficiency and exogenously supplied abscisic acid. An analysis based on a yeast one hybrid assay indicated that its product is able to activate transcription, consistent with its function as a transcription factor. When the gene was constitutively expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana, both germination and seedling growth were more sensitive to ABA treatment than wild type, and growth was less strongly compromised by salinity and moisture deficiency stress, presumably as a result of the induction of certain stress-related genes active in ABA-dependent pathways. The transgenic seedlings' enhanced the synthesis of many osmotic regulatory substances such as proline and soluble sugar, and decreased the lipid peroxidation. In all, MsMYB2L represents a potential candidate gene for manipulating the salinity and drought tolerance of alfalfa.

A MYB-Related Transcription Factor from Lilium lancifolium L. (LlMYB3) Is Involved in Anthocyanin Biosynthesis Pathway and Enhances Multiple Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Most commercial cultivars of lily are sensitive to abiotic stresses. However, tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium L.), one of the most widely distributed wild lilies in Asia, has strong abiotic stresses resistance. Thus, it is indispensable to identify stress-responsive candidate genes in tiger lily for the stress resistance improvement of plants. In this study, a MYB related homolog (LlMYB3) from tiger lily was functionally characterized as a positive regulator in plant stress tolerance. LlMYB3 is a nuclear protein with transcriptional activation activity at C-terminus. The expression of LlMYB3 gene was induced by multiple stress treatments. Several stress-related cis-acting regulatory elements (MYBRS, MYCRS, LTRE and DRE/CRT) were located within the promoter of LlMYB3; however, the promoter activity was not induced sufficiently by various stresses treatments. Overexpressing LlMYB3 in Arabidopsis thaliana L. transgenic plants showed ABA hypersensitivity and enhanced tolerance to cold, drought, and salt stresses. Furthermore, we found LlMYB3 highly co-expressed with LlCHS2 gene under cold treatment; yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assays demonstrated LlMYB3 was able to bind to the promoter of LlCHS2. These findings suggest that the stress-responsive LlMYB3 may be involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway to regulate stress tolerance of tiger lily.

Gene Expression Profiles Deciphering the Pathways of Coronatine Alleviating Water Stress in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivar Nipponbare (Japonica)

Coronatine (COR) is a structural and functional analog of methyl jasmonic acid (MeJA), which can alleviate stress on plant. We studied the effects of COR on the drought stress of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Pre-treatment with COR significantly increased the biomass, relative water and proline content, and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl)-radical scavenging activity, decreased the electrolyte leakage and MDA (Malondialdehyde) content in order to maintain the stability of cell membrane. Meanwhile, we determined how COR alleviates water stress by Nipponbare gene expression profiles and cDNA microarray analyses. Seedlings were treated with 0.1 μmol L⁻¹ COR at the three leafed stage for 12 h, followed with 17.5% polyethylene glycol (PEG). Whole genome transcript analysis was determined by employing the Rice Gene Chip (Affymetrix), a total of 870 probe sets were identified to be up or downregulated due to COR treatment under drought stress. Meanwhile, the real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) method was used to verify some genes; it indicated that there was a good agreement between the microarray data and RT-qPCR results. Our data showed that the differentially expressed genes were involved in stress response, signal transduction, metabolism and tissue structure development. Some important genes response to stress were induced by COR, which may enhance the expression of functional genes implicated in many kinds of metabolism, and play a role in defense response of rice seedling to drought stress. This study will aid in the analysis of the expressed gene induced by COR.

Research advances of MYB transcription factors in plant stress resistance and breeding

Plants face various stresses during the growth and development processes. The specific transcription factors bind to the cis-acting elements upstream of the stress resistance genes, specifically regulating the expression of the gene in plants and increasing the adaptability of plants to environmental stress. The transcription factor-mediated gene expression regulatory networks play an important role in plant stress response pathways. MYB (v-myb avian myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog) transcription factor is one of the largest members of the transcription factor family in plants. It participates and has a great influence on all aspects of plant growth and development. It plays an important role in plant secondary metabolic regulation, hormone and environmental factor responses, cell differentiation, organ morphogenesis, and cell cycle regulation. This review mainly introduces the characteristics, structure, and classification of MYB transcription factors, as well as the abiotic stress resistance to drought, salt, temperature, and other functions in breeding, and provides a reference for the research and utilization of transcription factors in the future.

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) for functional analysis of MYB80 gene involved in Solanum lycopersicum cold tolerance

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a method for transiently silencing genes in dicot and monocot plants. To evaluate the effects of chilling injury on activity of the MYB80 gene in Solanum lycopersicum, an investigation was conducted by VIGS using TRV-GFP (a modified TRV vector) to silence the target gene. During the chilling treatment (4/12 °C, 8/16-h dark/light photoperiod, with 60% humidity), the leaves were collected to analyze the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, soluble sugar content, free proline levels, and relative electric conductivity (REC). Leaves collected 2 weeks after chilling treatment were used to detect the in situ accumulation of superoxide radical (O₂^-). Additionally, we collected leaves at selected time points for semi-quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) analysis. Eventually, 20 days after chilling treatment, all plants were evaluated at 4 °C for 7 days to assess the chilling injury index. The results validated that the MYB80 gene was related to cold tolerance of tomato plants, and that silencing of the MYB80 gene reduced the cold resistance ability.

Natural variation in the HAN1 gene confers chilling tolerance in rice and allowed adaptation to a temperate climate

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a chilling-sensitive staple crop that originated in subtropical regions of Asia. Introduction of the chilling tolerance trait enables the expansion of rice cultivation to temperate regions. Here we report the cloning and characterization of HAN1, a quantitative trait locus (QTL) that confers chilling tolerance on temperate japonica rice. HAN1 encodes an oxidase that catalyzes the conversion of biologically active jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine (JA-Ile) to the inactive form 12-hydroxy-JA-Ile (12OH-JA-Ile) and fine-tunes the JA-mediated chilling response. Natural variants in HAN1 diverged between indica and japonica rice during domestication. A specific allele from temperate japonica rice, which gained a putative MYB cis-element in the promoter of HAN1 during the divergence of the two japonica ecotypes, enhances the chilling tolerance of temperate japonica rice and allows it to adapt to a temperate climate. The results of this study extend our understanding of the northward expansion of rice cultivation and provide a target gene for the improvement of chilling tolerance in rice.

Characterization of a novel litchi R2R3-MYB transcription factor that involves in anthocyanin biosynthesis and tissue acidification

BACKGROUND

Maturation of litchi (Litchi chinensis) fruit is characterized by dramatic changes in pigments in the pericarp and flavor compounds in the aril. Among them, the biosynthesis of anthocyanins is most noticeable. Previous studies showed that LcMYB1 and LcbHLH transcription factors participated in regulating the anthocyanin biosynthesis in litchi. However, the roles of other MYB factors remain unclear.

RESULTS

In this study, we cloned and characterized the function of LcMYB5, a novel R2R3-MYB identified from litchi transcriptome. Although LcMYB5 was constitutively expressed in litchi tissues and its expressions was not correlated with tissue coloration, overexpression of LcMYB5 resulted in enhanced biosynthesis of anthocyanins in tobacco and petunia concurrent with the up-regulation of their endogenous bHLHs and key structural genes in anthocyanin precursor biosynthesis. These results indicate that LcMYB5 is an R2R3 transcriptional factor regulates anthocyanin biosynthesis either by directly activating the expression of key structural genes such as DFR or by indirectly up regulating the expressions of endogenous bHLH regulators. More interestingly, the pH values in petals and leaves from transgenic lines were significant lower than those in both untransformed tobacco and petunia, indicating LcMYB5 is also associated with pH regulation. The expressions of LcMYB5 and its bHLH partner LcbHLH1 were consistent with the expression of putative tissue acidification gene LcPH1, and the changes in malic acid provided further evidence for the close relationship between LcMYB5 and tissue acidification.

CONCLUSIONS

Taking together, our study indicated that LcMYB5 is involved in not only anthocyanin biosynthesis but also tissue acidification.

Analysis of potential strategies for cadmium stress tolerance revealed by transcriptome analysis of upland cotton

In recent years, heavy metal pollution has become a more serious global problem, and all countries are actively engaged in finding methods to remediate heavy metal-contaminated soil. We conducted transcriptome sequencing of the roots of cotton grown under three different cadmium concentrations, and analysed the potential strategies for coping with cadmium stress. Through Gene Ontology analysis, we found that most of the genes differentially regulated under cadmium stress were associated with catalytic activity and binding action, especially metal iron binding, and specific metabolic and cellular processes. The genes responsive to cadmium stress were mainly related to membrane and response to stimulus. The KEGG pathways enriched differentially expressed genes were associated with secondary metabolite production, Starch and sucrose metabolism, flavonoid biosynthesis, phenylalanina metalism and biosynthesis, in order to improve the activity of antioxidant system, repair systems and transport system and reduction of cadmium toxicity. There are three main mechanisms by which cotton responds to cadmium stress: thickening of physical barriers, oxidation resistance and detoxification complexation. Meanwhile, identified a potential cotton-specific stress response pathway involving brassinolide, and ethylene signaling pathways. Further investigation is needed to define the specific molecular mechanisms underlying cotton tolerance to cadmium stress. In this study potential coping strategies of cotton root under cadmium stress were revealed. Our findings can guide the selection of cotton breeds that absorb high levels of cadmium.

Transcriptional Regulation of Stearoyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Desaturase Genes in Response to Abiotic Stresses Leads to Changes in the Unsaturated Fatty Acids Composition of Olive Mesocarp

In higher plants, the stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase (SAD) catalyzes the first desaturation step leading to oleic acid, which can be further desaturated to linoleic and α-linolenic acids. Therefore, SAD plays an essential role in determining the overall content of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA). We have investigated how SAD genes expression and UFA composition are regulated in olive (Olea europaea) mesocarp tissue from Picual and Arbequina cultivars in response to different abiotic stresses. The results showed that olive SAD genes are transcriptionally regulated by temperature, darkness and wounding. The increase in SAD genes expression levels observed in Picual mesocarp exposed to low temperature brought about a modification in the UFA content of microsomal membrane lipids. In addition, darkness caused the down-regulation of SAD genes transcripts, together with a decrease in the UFA content of chloroplast lipids. The differential role of olive SAD genes in the wounding response was also demonstrated. These data point out that different environmental stresses can modify the UFA composition of olive mesocarp through the transcriptional regulation of SAD genes, affecting olive oil quality.

R2R3-MYB transcription factor MdMYB23 is involved in the cold tolerance and proanthocyanidin accumulation in apple

Cold stress severely affects plant growth and yield. C-repeat binding factors (CBFs) play important roles in the response to cold stress. In the present study, we identified an R2R3-MYB transcription factor (TF) MdMYB23 from apple (Malus × domestic) using transcriptome analyses, which was notably induced in response to cold stress. Transgenic apple calli and Arabidopsis with overexpression of MdMYB23 exhibited increased cold tolerance. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and transient expression assays indicated that MdMYB23 directly bound to the promoters of MdCBF1 and MdCBF2 and activated their expression. MdMYB23 interacted with the promoter of MdANR, a key modulator of proanthocyanidin biosynthesis, and activated its expression to promote proanthocyanidin accumulation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging. MdBT2 was identified as an MdMYB23-interacting protein using yeast two-hybrid (Y2H), pull-down, and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays. MdBT2 repressed cold tolerance and proanthocyanidin accumulation by promoting the degradation of MdMYB23 protein. Our findings shed light on the functions of MYB TFs and underlying mechanism in the modulation of plant cold tolerance.

Transcriptional regulation of osmotic stress tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

The current review provides an updated, new insights into the regulation of transcription mediated underlying mechanisms of wheat plants to osmotic stress perturbations. Osmotic stress tolerance mechanisms being complex are governed by multiple factors at physiological, biochemical and at the molecular level, hence approaches like "OMICS" that can underpin mechanisms behind osmotic tolerance in wheat is of paramount importance. The transcription factors (TFs) are a class of molecular proteins, which are involved in regulation, modulation and orchestrating the responses of plants to a variety of environmental stresses. Recent reports have provided novel insights on the role of TFs in osmotic stress tolerance via direct molecular links. However, our knowledge on the regulatory role TFs during osmotic stress tolerance in wheat remains limited. The present review in its first part sheds light on the importance of studying the role of osmotic stress tolerance in wheat plants and second aims to decipher molecular mechanisms of TFs belonging to several classes, including DREB, NAC, MYB, WRKY and bHLH, which have been reported to engage in osmotic stress mediated gene expression in wheat and third part covers the systems biology approaches to understand the transcriptional regulation of osmotic stress and the role of long non-coding RNAs in response to osmotic stress with special emphasis on wheat. The current concept may lead to an understanding in molecular regulation and signalling interaction of TFs under osmotic stress to clarify challenges and problems for devising potential strategies to improve complex regulatory events involved in plant tolerance to osmotic stress adaptive pathways in wheat.

The R2R3MYB Gene Family in Phyllostachys edulis: Genome-Wide Analysis and Identification of Stress or Development-Related R2R3MYBs

The MYB transcription factor (TF) is one of the largest gene families in plants and involved to multiple biological processes. However, little is known about the MYB family and its functional role in the genome of moso bamboo. In the present study, a total of 114 R2R3MYB genes were first identified from moso bamboo genome and full-length non-chimeric (FLNC) reads. Phylogenetic analysis coupled with gene structure analysis and motif determination resulted in the division of these PheR2R3MYBs into 17 subgroups. The position of eight proteins along an external branch in the phylogenetic tree suggested their relatively ancient origin. The genes in this group were all substituted by (Met, M)/(Arg, R) at conservative W residues in both R2 and R3 repeats, and half were found to possess no transcriptional activation activity. The analysis of evolutionary patterns and divergence suggests that the expansion of PheMYBs was mainly attributable to whole genome duplication (WGD) under different selection pressures. Expressional analysis based on microarray and qRT-PCR data performed diverse expression patterns of R2R3MYBs in response to both various abiotic stimuli and flower development. Furthermore, the co-expression analysis of R2R3MYBs suggested an intricate interplay of growth- and stress-related responses. Finally, we found a hub gene, PheMYB4, was involved in a complex proteins interaction network. Further functional analysis indicated that ectopic overexpression of its homologous gene, PheMYB4-1, could increase tolerance to cold treatment and sensitivity to drought and salt treatment of transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings. These findings provide comprehensive insights into the MYB family members in moso bamboo and offer candidate MYB genes for further studies on their roles in stress resistance.

Quantitative Phosphoproteomic and Metabolomic Analyses Reveal GmMYB173 Optimizes Flavonoid Metabolism in Soybean under Salt Stress

Salinity causes osmotic stress to crops and limits their productivity. To understand the mechanism underlying soybean salt tolerance, proteomics approach was used to identify phosphoproteins altered by NaCl treatment. Results revealed that 412 of the 4698 quantitatively analyzed phosphopeptides were significantly up-regulated on salt treatment, including a phosphopeptide covering the serine 59 in the transcription factor GmMYB173. Our data showed that GmMYB173 is one of the three MYB proteins differentially phosphorylated on salt treatment, and a substrate of the casein kinase-II. MYB recognition sites exist in the promoter of flavonoid synthase gene GmCHS5 and one was found to mediate its recognition by GmMYB173, an event facilitated by phosphorylation. Because GmCHS5 catalyzes the synthesis of chalcone, flavonoids derived from chalcone were monitored using metabolomics approach. Results revealed that 24 flavonoids of 6745 metabolites were significantly up-regulated after salt treatment. We further compared the salt tolerance and flavonoid accumulation in soybean transgenic roots expressing the 35S promoter driven cds and RNAi constructs of GmMYB173 and GmCHS5, as well as phospho-mimic (GmMYB173S59D ) and phospho-ablative (GmMYB173S59A ) mutants of GmMYB173 Overexpression of GmMYB173S59D and GmCHS5 resulted in the highest increase in salt tolerance and accumulation of cyaniding-3-arabinoside chloride, a dihydroxy B-ring flavonoid. The dihydroxy B-ring flavonoids are more effective as anti-oxidative agents when compared with monohydroxy B-ring flavonoids, such as formononetin. Hence the salt-triggered phosphorylation of GmMYB173, subsequent increase in its affinity to GmCHS5 promoter and the elevated transcription of GmCHS5 likely contribute to soybean salt tolerance by enhancing the accumulation of dihydroxy B-ring flavonoids.

Transcriptomic identification of salt-related genes and de novo assembly in common buckwheat (F. esculentum)

Common buckwheat (F. esculentum), annually herbaceous crop, is prevalent in people's daily life with the increasing development of economics. Compared with wheat, it is highly praised with high content of rutin and flavonoid. Common buckwheat is recognized as healthy food with good taste, and the product price of which such as noodles, flour, bread and so on are higher than wheat, and the seeds of which are bigger than that of tartary buckwheat, so if common buckwheat are planted more widely, people will spend less money on this healthy and delicious food. However, soil salinity has been a giant problem for agriculture production. The cultivation of salt tolerant crop varieties is an effective way to make full use of saline alkali land, and the highest salinity that the common buckwheat can sow is at 6.0%, so we chose 100 mM as the concentration of NaCl for treatment. Then we conducted transcriptome comparison between control and treatment groups. Potential regulatory genes related salt stress in common buckwheat were identified. A total of 29.36 million clean reads were produced via an illumina sequencing approach. We de novo assembled these reads into a transcriptome dataset containing 43,772 unigenes with N50 length of 1778 bp. A total of 26,672 unigenes could be found matches in public databases. GO, KEGG and Swiss-Prot classification suggested the enrichment of these unigenes in 47 sub-categories, 25 KOG and 129 pathways, respectively. We got 385 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after comparing the transcriptome data between salt treatment and control groups. There are some genes encoded for responsing to stimulus, cell killing, metabolic process, signaling, multi-organism process, growth and cellular process might be relevant to salt stress in common buckwheat, which will provide a valuable references for the study on mechanism of salt tolerance and will be used as a genetic information for cultivating strong salt tolerant common buckwheat varieties in the future.

Transcriptome analysis of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum) in response to low temperature stress

Background

Chrysanthemum is one kind of ornamental plant well-known and widely used in the world. However, its quality and production were severely affected by low temperature conditions in winter and early spring periods. Therefore, we used the RNA-Seq platform to perform a de novo transcriptome assembly to analyze chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum) transcription response to low temperature.

Results

Using Illumina sequencing technology, a total of 86,444,237 high-quality clean reads and 93,837 unigenes were generated from four libraries: T01, controls; T02, 4 °C cold acclimation (CA) for 24 h; T03, − 4 °C freezing treatments for 4 h with prior CA; and T04, − 4 °C freezing treatments for 4 h without prior CA. In total, 7583 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of 36,462 annotated unigenes were identified. We performed GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses, and excavated a group of important cold-responsive genes related to low temperature sensing and signal transduction, membrane lipid stability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and osmoregulation. These genes encode many key proteins in plant biological processes, such as protein kinases, transcription factors, fatty acid desaturase, lipid-transfer proteins, antifreeze proteins, antioxidase and soluble sugars synthetases. We also verified expression levels of 10 DEGs using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). In addition, we performed the determination of physiological indicators of chrysanthemum treated at low temperature, and the results were basically consistent with molecular sequencing results.

Conclusion

In summary, our study presents a genome-wide transcript profile of Dendranthema grandiflorum var. jinba and provides insights into the molecular mechanisms of D. grandiflorum in response to low temperature. These data contributes to our deeper relevant researches on cold tolerance and further exploring new candidate genes for chilling-tolerance and freezing-tolerance chrysanthemum molecular breeding.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-4706-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Arabidopsis PCaP2 Plays an Important Role in Chilling Tolerance and ABA Response by Activating CBF- and SnRK2-Mediated Transcriptional Regulatory Network

Chilling stress affects plant growth and productivity. However, the multi-underlying mechanisms of chilling tolerance are not well understood. Arabidopsis PCaP2 is involved in regulating the dynamic of microtubules (MTs) and F-actin and Ca²⁺-binding ability. Here, the results showed that the PCaP2 expression was highly induced in roots, cotyledons, true leaves, lateral roots and flowers under cold stress. Compared with the wild type, PCaP2-overexpressing plants displayed the enhanced tolerance, whereas its RNAi and mutant were more sensitive in seed germination, seedling and reproductive growth under chilling stress in Arabidopsis. In addition, PCaP2 was also a positive regulator of ABA signaling pathway by analyzing the expression of PCaP2 and the phenotypes of PCaP2-overexpressing, mutant and RNAi plants under ABA treatment. Interestingly, disruption of PCaP2 inhibited the expression of CBF1, -3 and CBF-target COR genes, while increased the CBF2 expression in response to cold or ABA. Moreover, we found that SnRK2s were involved in cold stress and PCaP2 mutants down-regulated the transcription level of SnRK2.2, -2.3 and SnRK2-mediated downstream genes including ABF2, RD29A, KIN1, KIN2, but up-regulated SnRK2.6, ABF1, -3, -4 in ABA and cold treatments. It is well-accepted that PCaP2 as a Ca²⁺-binding protein triggers the gene expression to enhance plant chilling tolerance. Our further studies showed that MT destabilizing activity of PCaP2, but not F-actin-severing function, may be involved in chilling stress. Taken together, our results highlight that PCaP2 plays an important role in chilling tolerance and ABA response by triggering the CBF- and SnRK2-meditated transcriptional regulatory pathways, providing novel evidences of underlying mechanisms of multi-pathways in chilling stress.

Overexpression of a tartary buckwheat R2R3-MYB transcription factor gene, FtMYB9, enhances tolerance to drought and salt stresses in transgenic Arabidopsis

Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) is a traditional coarse cereal that exhibits strong plasticity in its adaptation to harsh and complicated environmental stresses. In an attempt to study the strong tolerance of tartary buckwheat, the FtMYB9 gene, which encodes an R2R3-MYB transcription factor protein, was functionally investigated. FtMYB9 expression was rapidly and strongly induced by ABA, cold, salt, and drought treatments in the seedling stage. A yeast one-hybrid system assay indicated that FtMYB9 is an activator of transcriptional activity, consistent with its roles as a transcription factor. Its overexpression in plants resulted in increased sensitivity to ABA at the germination and seedling stages compared to wild type. The overexpression of FtMYB9 increased tolerance to drought and salt stresses by the activation of some stress-related genes from both ABA-independent and ABA-dependent pathways in transgenic Arabidopsis. Furthermore, enhanced proline content and the activation of the P5CS1 gene implied that FtMYB9 may be involved in proline synthesis in plants. Collectively, these results suggest that FtMYB9 functions as a novel R2R3-MYB TF which plays positive roles in salt and drought tolerance by regulating different stress-responsive signaling pathways.

Bioinformatics identification of new targets for improving low temperature stress tolerance in spring and winter wheat

Background

Phenotypic studies in Triticeae have shown that low temperature-induced protective mechanisms are developmentally regulated and involve dynamic acclimation processes. Understanding these mechanisms is important for breeding cold-resistant wheat cultivars. In this study, we combined three computational techniques for the analysis of gene expression data from spring and winter wheat cultivars subjected to low temperature treatments. Our main objective was to construct a comprehensive network of cold response transcriptional events in wheat, and to identify novel cold tolerance candidate genes in wheat.

Results

We assigned novel cold stress-related roles to 35 wheat genes, uncovered novel transcription (TF)-gene interactions, and identified 127 genes representing known and novel candidate targets associated with cold tolerance in wheat. Our results also show that delays in terms of activation or repression of the same genes across wheat cultivars play key roles in phenotypic differences among winter and spring wheat cultivars, and adaptation to low temperature stress, cold shock and cold acclimation.

Conclusions

Using three computational approaches, we identified novel putative cold-response genes and TF-gene interactions. These results provide new insights into the complex mechanisms regulating the expression of cold-responsive genes in wheat.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12859-017-1596-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A sugarcane R2R3-MYB transcription factor gene is alternatively spliced during drought stress

MYB transcription factors of the R2R3-MYB family have been shown to play important roles in many plant processes. A sugarcane R2R3-MYB gene (ScMYB2) and its two alternative forms of transcript (ScMYB2S1 and ScMYB2S2) were identified in this study. The deduced protein of ScMYB2S1 is a typical plant R2R3-MYB protein, while ScMYB2S2 encodes a truncated protein. Real-time qPCR analysis revealed that ScMYB2S1 is suppressed under PEG-simulated drought stress in sugarcane, while ScMYB2S2 is induced at later treatment stage. A senescence symptom was observed when ScMYB2S1 was injected into tobacco leaves mediated by Agrobacterium, but no symptom for ScMYB2S2. Further investigation showed that the expression levels of 4 senescence-associated genes, NtPR-1a, NtNYC1, NtCAT3 and NtABRE, were markedly induced in tobacco leaves after ScMYB2S1-injection, while they were not sensitive to ScMYB2S2-injection. Moreover, MDA and proline were also investigated after injection. Similarly, MDA and proline levels were induced by ABA and ScMYB2S1, while inhibited by ScMYB2S2. We propose that ScMYB2, by alternatively splicing two transcripts (ScMYB2S1 and ScMYB2S2), is involved in an ABA-mediated leaf senescence signaling pathway and play positive role in respond to drought-induced senescence in sugarcane. The results of this study provide information for further research in sugarcane stress processes.

Functional Characterization of Cotton GaMYB62L, a Novel R2R3 TF in Transgenic Arabidopsis

Drought stress can trigger the production of ABA in plants, in response to adverse conditions, which induces the transcript of stress-related marker genes. The R2R3 MYB TFs are implicated in regulation of various plants developmental, metabolic and multiple environmental stress responses. Here, a R2R3-MYB cloned gene, GaMYB62L, was transformed in Arabidopsis and was functionally characterized. The GaMYB62L protein contains two SANT domains with a conserved R2R3 imperfect repeats. The GaMYB62L cDNA is 1,017 bp with a CDS of 879, encodes a 292-residue polypeptide with MW of 38.78 kD and a pI value of 8.91. Overexpressed GaMYB62L transgenic Arabidopsis have increased proline and chlorophyll content, superior seed germination rate under salt and osmotic stress, less water loss rate with reduced stomatal apertures, high drought avoidance as compared to WT on water deprivation and also significant plant survival rates at low temperature. In addition, overexpressed GaMYB62L lines were more sensitive to ABA mediated germination and root elongation assay. Moreover, ABA induced GaMYB62L overexpression, enhanced the expression of ABA stress related marker genes like RD22, COR15A, ADH1, and RD29A. Together, overexpression of GaMYB62L suggested having developed better drought, salt and cold tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis and thus presented it as a prospective candidate gene to achieve better abiotic stress tolerance in cotton crop.

Expression of the MYB transcription factor gene BplMYB46 affects abiotic stress tolerance and secondary cell wall deposition in Betula platyphylla

Plant MYB transcription factors control diverse biological processes, such as differentiation, development and abiotic stress responses. In this study, we characterized BplMYB46, an MYB gene from Betula platyphylla (birch) that is involved in both abiotic stress tolerance and secondary wall biosynthesis. BplMYB46 can act as a transcriptional activator in yeast and tobacco. We generated transgenic birch plants with overexpressing or silencing of BplMYB46 and subjected them to gain- or loss-of-function analysis. The results suggest that BplMYB46 improves salt and osmotic tolerance by affecting the expression of genes including SOD, POD and P5CS to increase both reactive oxygen species scavenging and proline levels. In addition, BplMYB46 appears to be involved in controlling stomatal aperture to reduce water loss. Overexpression of BplMYB46 increases lignin deposition, secondary cell wall thickness and the expression of genes in secondary cell wall formation. Further analysis indicated that BplMYB46 binds to MYBCORE and AC-box motifs and may directly activate the expression of genes involved in abiotic stress responses and secondary cell wall biosynthesis whose promoters contain these motifs. The transgenic BplMYB46-overexpressing birch plants, which have improved salt and osmotic stress tolerance, higher lignin and cellulose content and lower hemicellulose content than the control, have potential applications in the forestry industry.

Genome-Wide Analysis of Gene Expression Provides New Insights into Cold Responses in Thellungiella salsuginea

Low temperature is one of the major environmental stresses that affects plant growth and development, and leads to decrease in crop yield and quality. Thellungiella salsuginea (salt cress) exhibits high tolerance to chilling, is an appropriate model to investigate the molecular mechanisms of cold tolerance. Here, we compared transcription changes in the roots and leaves of T. salsuginea under cold stress using RNA-seq. We identified 2,782 and 1,430 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in leaves and roots upon cold treatment, respectively. The expression levels of some genes were validated by quantitative real-time-PCR (qRT-PCR). Among these DEGs, 159 (11.1%) genes in roots and 232 (8.3%) genes in leaves were annotated as various types of transcription factors. We found that five aquaporin genes (three TIPs, one PIPs, and one NIPs) responded to cold treatment. In addition, the expression of COR47, ICE1, and CBF1 genes of DREB1/CBF-dependent cold signaling pathway genes altered in response to low temperature. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that these cold regulated genes were enriched in metabolism, photosynthesis, circadian rhythm, and transcriptional regulation. Our findings provided a complete picture of the regulatory network of cold stress response in T. salsuginea. These cold-responsive genes could be targeted for detail functional study and utilization in crop cold tolerance improvement.

Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of Genes, Conserved between japonica and indica Rice Cultivars, that Respond to Low-Temperature Stress at the Vegetative Growth Stage

Cold stress is very detrimental to crop production. However, only a few genes in rice have been identified with known functions related to cold tolerance. To meet this agronomic challenge more effectively, researchers must take global approaches to select useful candidate genes and find the major regulatory factors. We used five Gene expression omnibus series data series of Affymetrix array data, produced with cold stress-treated samples from the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/), and identified 502 cold-inducible genes common to both japonica and indica rice cultivars. From them, we confirmed that the expression of two randomly chosen genes was increased by cold stress in planta. In addition, overexpression of OsWRKY71 enhanced cold tolerance in 'Dongjin,' the tested japonica cultivar. Comparisons between japonica and indica rice, based on calculations of plant survival rates and chlorophyll fluorescence, confirmed that the japonica rice was more cold-tolerant. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis indicate that the 'L-phenylalanine catabolic process,' within the Biological Process category, was the most highly overrepresented under cold-stress conditions, implying its significance in that response in rice. MapMan analysis classified 'Major Metabolic' processes and 'Regulatory Gene Modules' as two other major determinants of the cold-stress response and suggested several key cis-regulatory elements. Based on these results, we proposed a model that includes a pathway for cold stress-responsive signaling. Results from our functional analysis of the main signal transduction and transcription regulation factors identified in that pathway will provide insight into novel regulatory metabolism(s), as well as a foundation by which we can develop crop plants with enhanced cold tolerance.

Perspective Research Progress in Cold Responses of Capsella bursa-pastoris

Plants respond to cold stress by modulating biochemical pathways and array of molecular events. Plant morphology is also affected by the onset of cold conditions culminating at repression in growth as well as yield reduction. As a preventive measure, cascades of complex signal transduction pathways are employed that permit plants to endure freezing or chilling periods. The signaling pathways and related events are regulated by the plant hormonal activity. Recent investigations have provided a prospective understanding about plant response to cold stress by means of developmental pathways e.g., moderate growth involved in cold tolerance. Cold acclimation assays and bioinformatics analyses have revealed the role of potential transcription factors and expression of genes like CBF, COR in response to low temperature stress. Capsella bursa-pastoris is a considerable model plant system for evolutionary and developmental studies. On different occasions it has been proved that C. bursa-pastoris is more capable of tolerating cold than A. thaliana. But, the mechanism for enhanced low or freezing temperature tolerance is still not clear and demands intensive research. Additionally, identification and validation of cold responsive genes in this candidate plant species is imperative for plant stress physiology and molecular breeding studies to improve cold tolerance in crops. We have analyzed the role of different genes and hormones in regulating plant cold resistance with special reference to C. bursa-pastoris. Review of collected data displays potential ability of Capsella as model plant for improvement in cold stress regulation. Information is summarized on cold stress signaling by hormonal control which highlights the substantial achievements and designate gaps that still happen in our understanding.

Knock-down of a RING finger gene confers cold tolerance

The plant-specific RING-domain finger proteins play important roles in plant development and stress responses. We recently identified and functionally characterized a stress-induced gene OsSRFP1 (Oryza sativa Stress-related RING Finger Protein 1) from rice. We showed evidences of the biotechnological potential of the suppression of OsSRFP1 expression in conferring cold tolerance. The increased cold tolerance of OsSRFP1 knock-down plants was associated with higher amounts of free proline and activities of antioxidant enzymes. In vitro ubiquitination assays showed that OsSRFP1 possessed E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. Some predicted interacting partners of OsSRFP1 might be the substrates for OsSRFP1-mediated protein degradation. Interestingly, OsSRFP1 had trans-activation activity, suggesting the dual roles of OsSRFP1 in post-translational and transcriptional regulations in stress responses.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Responses to Imbalanced Carbon: Nitrogen Availabilities in Rice Seedlings

The internal C:N balance must be tightly controlled for the normal growth and development of plants. However, the underlying mechanisms, by which plants sense and balance the intracellular C:N status correspondingly to exogenous C:N availabilities remain elusive. In this study, we use comparative gene expression analysis to identify genes that are responsive to imbalanced C:N treatments in the aerial parts of rice seedlings. Transcripts of rice seedlings treated with four C:N availabilities (1:1, 1:60, 60:1 and 60:60) were compared and two groups of genes were classified: high C:low N responsive genes and low C:high N responsive genes. Our analysis identified several functional correlated genes including chalcone synthase (CHS), chlorophyll a-b binding protein (CAB) and other genes that are implicated in C:N balancing mechanism, such as alternative oxidase 1B (OsAOX1B), malate dehydrogenase (OsMDH) and lysine and histidine specific transporter 1 (OsLHT1). Additionally, six jasmonate synthetic genes and key regulatory genes involved in abiotic and biotic stresses, such as OsMYB4, autoinhibited calcium ATPase 3 (OsACA3) and pleiotropic drug resistance 9 (OsPDR9), were differentially expressed under high C:low N treatment. Gene ontology analysis showed that high C:low N up-regulated genes were primarily enriched in fatty acid biosynthesis and defense responses. Coexpression network analysis of these genes identified eight jasmonate ZIM domain protein (OsJAZ) genes and several defense response related regulators, suggesting that high C:low N status may act as a stress condition, which induces defense responses mediated by jasmonate signaling pathway. Our transcriptome analysis shed new light on the C:N balancing mechanisms and revealed several important regulators of C:N status in rice seedlings.

CsWRKY46, a WRKY transcription factor from cucumber, confers cold resistance in transgenic-plant by regulating a set of cold-stress responsive genes in an ABA-dependent manner

Plant WRKY transcription factors are trans-regulatory proteins that are involved in plant immune responses, development and senescence; however, their roles in abiotic stress are still not well understood, especially in the horticultural crop cucumber. In this study, a novel cucumber WRKY gene, CsWRKY46 was cloned and identified, which was up-regulated in response to cold stress and exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. CsWRKY46 is belonging to group II of the WRKY family, CsWRKY46 was found exclusively in the nucleus, as indicated by a transient expression assay. Yeast one-hybrid assay shown that CsWRKY46 interact with the W-box in the promoter of ABI5. Transgenic Arabidopsis lines over-expressing CsWRKY46, WRK46-OE1 and WRK46-OE5 had higher seedling survival rates upon freezing treatment compared with that of the wild-type. The above over-expression lines also showed much a higher proline accumulation, less electrolyte leakage and lower malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Furthermore, the CsWRKY46 overexpression lines were hypersensitive to ABA during seed germination, but the seedlings were not. Quantitative RT-PCR analyses revealed that the expression levels of the ABA-responsive transcription factor ABI5 were higher in the WRKY46-OE lines than in wild-type and that the overexpression of CsWRKY46 increased the expression of stress-inducible genes, including RD29A and COR47. Taken together, our results demonstrated that CsWRKY46 from cucumber conferred cold tolerance to transgenic plants and positively regulated the cold signaling pathway in an ABA-dependent manner.

2-Hydroxymelatonin promotes the resistance of rice plant to multiple simultaneous abiotic stresses (combined cold and drought)

We investigated the physiological roles of 2-hydroxymelatonin (2-OHMel) in rice seedlings. When they were challenged with simultaneous multiple abiotic stressors, such as a combination of cold and drought, those pretreated with 2-OHMel were resistant, whereas no tolerance was observed in seedlings treated with either melatonin or water (control). The tolerance phenotype was associated with the induction of several transporter proteins, including the proton transporter (UCP1), potassium transporter (HKT1), and water channel protein (PIP2;1). Treatment with 2-OHMel increased the content of the osmoprotectant proline and maintained mitochondrial structure when plants were subjected to a combination of cold and drought stress. We screened the corresponding transcription factors (TFs) for 2-OHMel-mediated resistance to the combined stressors through analysis of large numbers of cold- and drought-related TFs. Two TFs, Myb4 and AP37, were only induced by 2-OHMel treatment. Transgenic rice lines overexpressing rice Myb4 were not resistant to the combined stressors; however, the expression of UCP1, HKT1, and PIP2;1 transcripts was slightly enhanced. These data show that 2-OHMel alleviates the effects of simultaneous abiotic stressors via the actions of multiple TFs, including Myb4 and AP37.

Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of the MYB Transcription Factor Superfamily in Solanum lycopersicum

MYB proteins constitute one of the largest transcription factor families in the plant kingdom, members of which perform a variety of functions in plant biological processes. However, there are only very limited reports on the characterization of MYB transcription factors in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). In our study, a total of 127 MYB genes have been identified in the tomato genome. A complete overview of these MYB genes is presented, including the phylogeny, gene structures, protein motifs, chromosome locations and expression patterns. The 127 SlMYB proteins could be classified into 18 subgroups based on domain similarity and phylogenetic topology. Phylogenetic analysis of SlMYBs along with MYBs from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and rice (Oryza sativa) indicated 14 subfamilies. Conserved motifs outside the MYB domain may reflect their functional conservation. The identified tomato MYB genes were distributed on 12 chromosomes at various densities but mainly in chromosomes 6 and 10 (12.6% and 11.8%, respectively). Genome-wide segmental and tandem duplications were also found, which may contribute to the expansion of SlMYB genes. RNA-sequencing and microarray data revealed tissue-specific and stress-responsive expression patterns of SlMYB genes. The expression profiles of SlMYB genes in response to salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid methyl ester (MeJA) were also investigated by real-time PCR. Moreover, ethylene-responsive element-binding factor-associated amphiphilic repression (EAR) motifs were found in 24 SlMYB proteins. Collectively, our comprehensive analysis of SlMYB genes will facilitate future functional studies of the tomato MYB gene family and probably other Solanaceae plants.

Identification, isolation and expression analysis of eight stress-related R2R3-MYB genes in tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum)

Eight R2R3 - MYB genes in tartary buckwheat were identified, and their expression patterns were comprehensively analyzed, which reveals role in plant response to abiotic stresses. The proteins of the R2R3-MYB superfamily play key roles in the growth and development processes as well as defense responses in plants. However, their characteristics and functions have not been fully investigated in tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum), a strongly abiotic resistant coarse cereal. In this article, eight tartary buckwheat R2R3-MYB genes were isolated with full-length cDNA and DNA sequences. Phylogenetic analysis of the members of the R2R3-MYB superfamily between Arabidopsis and tartary buckwheat revealed that the assumed functions of the eight tartary buckwheat R2R3-MYB proteins are divided into five Arabidopsis functional subgroups that are involved in abiotic stress. Expression analysis during abiotic stress and exogenous phytohormone treatments identified that the eight R2R3-MYB genes responded to one or more treatments. This study is the first comprehensive analysis of the R2R3-MYB gene family in tartary buckwheat under abiotic stress.

[The roles of MYB transcription factors on plant defense responses and its molecular mechanism.]

Transcriptional regulation of defense gene expression is a crucial part of plant defense responses in plant defense environment stresses. As one of the largest plant transcription factor families, MYB (v-myb avian myeloblastosis viral on-cogene homolog) transcription factors play an important role in plant stress tolerance. In this paper, we review the structural features, functional characterization and molecular mechanism of MYB transcription factor family, and discuss the regula-tory roles of transcription factors in plant defense responses.

Comparative analysis of gene expression in response to cold stress in diverse rice genotypes

Cold stress is a major factor affecting rice (Oryza sativa) growth and productivity, limiting its distribution worldwide. Rice production is affected primarily due to its vulnerability to cold stress at seedling stage, as well as reproductive stage leading to spikelet sterility. We report here the analysis of 21 diverse rice genotypes from the USDA mini-core collection for cold tolerance and categorized their tolerance levels on the basis of reduction in growth measured by root and shoot length. The screening identified 12 cold tolerant genotypes from which six tolerant genotypes were characterized at the vegetative stage for cold tolerance and gas-exchange parameters. Two tolerant and two sensitive genotypes were used further for gene expression analysis. Lipid Transfer Protein (LTP) genes showed a clear difference in expression between cold tolerant and sensitive genotypes suggesting that they are good candidates for engineering cold tolerance in rice. Nipponbare was identified as a cold tolerant genotype with stress tolerance mechanism potentially operating via both ABA dependent and independent pathways.

Function of MYB domain transcription factors in abiotic stress and epigenetic control of stress response in plant genome

Plants have developed highly efficient and remarkable mechanisms to survive under frequent and extreme environmental stress conditions. Exposure of plants to various stress factors is associated with coordinated changes in gene expression at the transcriptional level and hence transcription factors, such as those belonging to the MYB family play a central role in triggering the right responses. MYB transcription factors have been extensively studied in regard of their involvement in the regulation of a number of such stress responses in plants. Genetic and molecular biological studies, primarily in Arabidopsis, have also begun to unravel the role of MYB transcription factors in the epigenetic regulation of stress responses in plants. This review focuses on the role of MYB transcription factors in the regulation of various stress responses in general, highlighting on recent advances in our understanding of the involvement of this class of transcription factors in epigenetic regulation of stress response in plant genome.

De novo transcriptome profiling of cold-stressed siliques during pod filling stages in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.)

Low temperature is a major abiotic stress that impedes plant growth and development. Brassica juncea is an economically important oil seed crop and is sensitive to freezing stress during pod filling subsequently leading to abortion of seeds. To understand the cold stress mediated global perturbations in gene expression, whole transcriptome of B. juncea siliques that were exposed to sub-optimal temperature was sequenced. Manually self-pollinated siliques at different stages of development were subjected to either short (6 h) or long (12 h) durations of chilling stress followed by construction of RNA-seq libraries and deep sequencing using Illumina's NGS platform. De-novo assembly of B. juncea transcriptome resulted in 133,641 transcripts, whose combined length was 117 Mb and N50 value was 1428 bp. We identified 13,342 differentially regulated transcripts by pair-wise comparison of 18 transcriptome libraries. Hierarchical clustering along with Spearman correlation analysis identified that the differentially expressed genes segregated in two major clusters representing early (5-15 DAP) and late stages (20-30 DAP) of silique development. Further analysis led to the discovery of sub-clusters having similar patterns of gene expression. Two of the sub-clusters (one each from the early and late stages) comprised of genes that were inducible by both the durations of cold stress. Comparison of transcripts from these clusters led to identification of 283 transcripts that were commonly induced by cold stress, and were referred to as "core cold-inducible" transcripts. Additionally, we found that 689 and 100 transcripts were specifically up-regulated by cold stress in early and late stages, respectively. We further explored the expression patterns of gene families encoding for transcription factors (TFs), transcription regulators (TRs) and kinases, and found that cold stress induced protein kinases only during early silique development. We validated the digital gene expression profiles of selected transcripts by qPCR and found a high degree of concordance between the two analyses. To our knowledge this is the first report of transcriptome sequencing of cold-stressed B. juncea siliques. The data generated in this study would be a valuable resource for not only understanding the cold stress signaling pathway but also for introducing cold hardiness in B. juncea.

Transcriptome sequencing and analysis of major genes involved in calcium signaling pathways in pear plants (Pyrus calleryana Decne.)

Background

Pears (Pyrus spp. L.) are an important genus of trees that produce one of the world’s oldest fruit crops. Salinity stress is a common limiting factor for plant productivity that significantly affects the flavor and nutritional quality of pear fruits. Much research has shown that calcium signaling pathways, mediated by Calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) and their interacting kinases (CIPKs), are closely associated with responses to stresses, including salt. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that govern the relationship between salt stress and calcium signaling pathways in pear plants. The available genomic information for pears has promoted much functional genomic analysis and molecular breeding of the genus. This provided an ample foundation for characterizing the transcriptome of pear under salt stress.

Results

A high-throughput Illumina RNA-seq technology was used to identify a total of 78,695 unigenes that were successfully annotated by BLASTX analysis, using the publicly available protein database. Additionally, 2,855 novel transcripts, 218,167 SNPs, 23,248 indels and 18,322 alternative splicing events occurred. Assembled unique sequences were annotated and classified with Gene Ontology (GO), Clusters of Orthologous Group (COG) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis, which revealed that the main activated genes in pear are predominately involved in functions such as basic physiological processes, metabolic pathways, operation of cellular components, signal transduction mechanisms, and other molecular activities. Through targeted searches of the annotations, the majority of the genes involved in calcium signaling pathways were identified, among which, four genes were validated by molecular cloning, while 11 were validated by RT-qPCR expression profiles under salt stress treatment.

Conclusions

These results facilitate a better understanding of the molecular genetics and functional genomic mechanisms of salt stress in pear plants. Furthermore, they provide a valuable foundation for additional research on the molecular biology and functional genomics of pear and related species.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1887-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Identification of regulatory network hubs that control lipid metabolism in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Microalgae-based biofuels are promising sources of alternative energy, but improvements throughout the production process are required to establish them as economically feasible. One of the most influential improvements would be a significant increase in lipid yields, which could be achieved by altering the regulation of lipid biosynthesis and accumulation. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii accumulates oil (triacylglycerols, TAG) in response to nitrogen (N) deprivation. Although a few important regulatory genes have been identified that are involved in controlling this process, a global understanding of the larger regulatory network has not been developed. In order to uncover this network in this species, a combined omics (transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic) analysis was applied to cells grown in a time course experiment after a shift from N-replete to N-depleted conditions. Changes in transcript and protein levels of 414 predicted transcription factors (TFs) and transcriptional regulators (TRs) were monitored relative to other genes. The TF and TR genes were thus classified by two separate measures: up-regulated versus down-regulated and early response versus late response relative to two phases of polar lipid synthesis (before and after TAG biosynthesis initiation). Lipidomic and primary metabolite profiling generated compound accumulation levels that were integrated with the transcript dataset and TF profiling to produce a transcriptional regulatory network. Evaluation of this proposed regulatory network led to the identification of several regulatory hubs that control many aspects of cellular metabolism, from N assimilation and metabolism, to central metabolism, photosynthesis and lipid metabolism.

Analysis of Stress-Responsive Gene Expression in Cultivated and Weedy Rice Differing in Cold Stress Tolerance

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars show impairment of growth in response to environmental stresses such as cold at the early seedling stage. Locally adapted weedy rice is able to survive under adverse environmental conditions, and can emerge in fields from greater soil depth. Cold-tolerant weedy rice can be a good genetic source for developing cold-tolerant, weed-competitive rice cultivars. An in-depth analysis is presented here of diverse indica and japonica rice genotypes, mostly weedy rice, for cold stress response to provide an understanding of different stress adaptive mechanisms towards improvement of the rice crop performance in the field. We have tested a collection of weedy rice genotypes to: 1) classify the subspecies (ssp.) grouping (japonica or indica) of 21 accessions; 2) evaluate their sensitivity to cold stress; and 3) analyze the expression of stress-responsive genes under cold stress and a combination of cold and depth stress. Seeds were germinated at 25°C at 1.5- and 10-cm sowing depth for 10d. Seedlings were then exposed to cold stress at 10°C for 6, 24 and 96h, and the expression of cold-, anoxia-, and submergence-inducible genes was analyzed. Control plants were seeded at 1.5cm depth and kept at 25°C. The analysis revealed that cold stress signaling in indica genotypes is more complex than that of japonica as it operates via both the CBF-dependent and CBF-independent pathways, implicated through induction of transcription factors including OsNAC2, OsMYB46 and OsF-BOX28. When plants were exposed to cold + sowing depth stress, a complex signaling network was induced that involved cross talk between stresses mediated by CBF-dependent and CBF-independent pathways to circumvent the detrimental effects of stresses. The experiments revealed the importance of the CBF regulon for tolerance to both stresses in japonica and indica ssp. The mechanisms for cold tolerance differed among weedy indica genotypes and also between weedy indica and cultivated japonica ssp. as indicated by the up/downregulation of various stress-responsive pathways identified from gene expression analysis. The cold-stress response is described in relation to the stress signaling pathways, showing complex adaptive mechanisms in different genotypes.

Plant MYB Transcription Factors: Their Role in Drought Response Mechanisms

Water scarcity is one of the major causes of poor plant performance and limited crop yields worldwide and it is the single most common cause of severe food shortage in developing countries. Several molecular networks involved in stress perception, signal transduction and stress responses in plants have been elucidated so far. Transcription factors are major players in water stress signaling. In recent years, different MYB transcription factors, mainly in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. but also in some crops, have been characterized for their involvement in drought response. For some of them there is evidence supporting a specific role in response to water stress, such as the regulation of stomatal movement, the control of suberin and cuticular waxes synthesis and the regulation of flower development. Moreover, some of these genes have also been characterized for their involvement in other abiotic or biotic stresses, an important feature considering that in nature, plants are often simultaneously subjected to multiple rather than single environmental perturbations. This review summarizes recent studies highlighting the role of the MYB family of transcription factors in the adaptive responses to drought stress. The practical application value of MYBs in crop improvement, such as stress tolerance engineering, is also discussed.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Shoots and Roots of TNG67 and TCN1 Rice Seedlings under Cold Stress and Following Subsequent Recovery: Insights into Metabolic Pathways, Phytohormones, and Transcription Factors

Cold stress affects rice growth, quality and yield. The investigation of genome-wide gene expression is important for understanding cold stress tolerance in rice. We performed comparative transcriptome analysis of the shoots and roots of 2 rice seedlings (TNG67, cold-tolerant; and TCN1, cold-sensitive) in response to low temperatures and restoration of normal temperatures following cold exposure. TNG67 tolerated cold stress via rapid alterations in gene expression and the re-establishment of homeostasis, whereas the opposite was observed in TCN1, especially after subsequent recovery. Gene ontology and pathway analyses revealed that cold stress substantially regulated the expression of genes involved in protein metabolism, modification, translation, stress responses, and cell death. TNG67 takes advantage of energy-saving and recycling resources to more efficiently synthesize metabolites compared with TCN1 during adjustment to cold stress. During recovery, expression of OsRR4 type-A response regulators was upregulated in TNG67 shoots, whereas that of genes involved in oxidative stress, chemical stimuli and carbohydrate metabolic processes was downregulated in TCN1. Expression of genes related to protein metabolism, modification, folding and defense responses was upregulated in TNG67 but not in TCN1 roots. In addition, abscisic acid (ABA)-, polyamine-, auxin- and jasmonic acid (JA)-related genes were preferentially regulated in TNG67 shoots and roots and were closely associated with cold stress tolerance. The TFs AP2/ERF were predominantly expressed in the shoots and roots of both TNG67 and TCN1. The TNG67-preferred TFs which express in shoot or root, such as OsIAA23, SNAC2, OsWRKY1v2, 24, 53, 71, HMGB, OsbHLH and OsMyb, may be good candidates for cold stress tolerance-related genes in rice. Our findings highlight important alterations in the expression of cold-tolerant genes, metabolic pathways, and hormone-related and TF-encoding genes in TNG67 rice during cold stress and recovery. The cross-talk of hormones may play an essential role in the ability of rice plants to cope with cold stress.

The R2R3-type MYB gene OsMYB91 has a function in coordinating plant growth and salt stress tolerance in rice

Plants have evolved a number of different mechanisms to respond and to adapt to abiotic stress for their survival. However, the regulatory mechanisms involved in coordinating abiotic stress tolerance and plant growth are not fully understood. Here, the function of OsMYB91, an R2R3-type MYB transcription factor of rice was explored. OsMYB91 was induced by abiotic stress, especially by salt stress. Analysis of chromatin structure of the gene revealed that salt stress led to rapid removal of DNA methylation from the promoter region and rapid changes of histone modifications in the locus. Plants over-expressing OsMYB91 showed reduced plant growth and accumulation of endogenous ABA under control conditions. Under salt stress, the over-expression plants showed enhanced tolerance with significant increases of proline levels and a highly enhanced capacity to scavenge active oxygen as well as the increased induction of OsP5CS1 and LOC_Os03g44130 compared to wild type, while RNAi plants were less sensitive. In addition, expression of OsMYB91 was also induced by other abiotic stresses and hormone treatment. More interestingly, SLR1, the rice homolog of Arabidopsis DELLA genes that have been shown to integrate endogenous developmental signals with adverse environmental conditions, was highly induced by OsMYB91 over-expression, while the salt-induction of SLR1 expression was impaired in the RNAi plants. These results suggested that OsMYB91 was a stress-responsive gene that might be involved in coordinating rice tolerance to abiotic stress and plant growth by regulating SLR1 expression.

Cooling water before panicle initiation increases chilling-induced male sterility and disables chilling-induced expression of genes encoding OsFKBP65 and heat shock proteins in rice spikelets

In rice (Oryza sativa L.), chilling-induced male sterility increased when plants experienced low water temperature (Tw , 18 °C for 14 d) before panicle initiation. The number of mature pollen grains after chilling at the booting stage (12 °C for 5 d) was only 45% of total pollen grains in low-Tw plants, whereas it was 71% in normal-Tw plants (Tw not controlled; approximately 23 °C under air temperature of 26 °C/21 °C, day/night). Microarray and quantitative PCR analyses showed that many stress-responsive genes (including OsFKBP65 and genes encoding the large heat shock protein OsHSP90.1, heat-stress transcription factors and many small heat shock proteins) were strongly up-regulated by chilling in normal-Tw spikelets, but were unaffected or even down-regulated by chilling in low-Tw spikelets. OsAPX2 and genes encoding some other antioxidant enzymes were also significantly down-regulated by low Tw in chilled spikelets. The levels of lipid peroxidation products (malondialdehyde equivalents) were significantly increased in low-Tw spikelets by chilling. Ascorbate peroxidase activity in chilled spikelets was significantly lower in low-Tw plants than in normal-Tw plants. Our data suggest that an OsFKBP65-related chilling response, which protects proteins from oxidative damage, is indispensable for chilling tolerance but is lost in low-Tw spikelets.

A wheat salinity-induced WRKY transcription factor TaWRKY93 confers multiple abiotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Wheat is an important crop in the world. But most of the cultivars are salt sensitive, and often adversely affected by salt stress. WRKY transcription factors play a major role in plant responses to salt stress, but the effective salinity regulatory WRKYs identified in bread wheat are limited and the mechanism of salt stress tolerance is also not well explored. Here, we identified a salt (NaCl) induced class II WRKY transcription factor TaWRKY93. Its transcript level was strongly induced by salt (NaCl) and exogenous abscisic acid (ABA). Over-expression of TaWRKY93 in Arabidopsis thaliana enhanced salt (NaCl), drought, low temperature and osmotic (mannitol) stress tolerance, mainly demonstrated by transgenic plants forming longer primary roots or more lateral roots on MS plates supplemented with NaCl and mannitol individually, higher survival rate under drought and low temperature stress. Further, transgenic plants maintained a more proline content, higher relative water content and less electrolyte leakage than the wild type plants. The transcript abundance of a series of abiotic stress-related genes was up-regulated in the TaWRKY93 transgenic plants. In summary, TaWRKY93 is a new positive regulator of abiotic stress, it may increase salinity, drought and low temperature stress tolerance through enhancing osmotic adjustment, maintaining membrane stability and increasing transcription of stress related genes, and contribute to the superior agricultural traits of SR3 through promoting root development. It can be used as a candidate gene for wheat transgenic engineering breeding against abiotic stress.

Construction of regulatory networks mediated by small RNAs responsive to abiotic stresses in rice (Oryza sativa)

Plants have evolved exquisite molecular mechanisms to adapt to diverse abiotic stresses. MicroRNAs play an important role in stress response in plants. However, whether the other small RNAs (sRNAs) possess stress-related roles remains elusive. In this study, thousands of sRNAs responsive to cold, drought and salt stresses were identified in rice seedlings and panicles by using high-throughput sequencing data. These sRNAs were classified into 12 categories, including "Panicle_Cold_Down", "Panicle_Cold_Up", "Panicle_Drought_Down", "Panicle_Drought_Up", "Panicle_Salt_Down", "Panicle_Salt_Up", "Seedling_Cold_Down", "Seedling_Cold_Up", "Seedling_Drought_Down", "Seedling_Drought_Up", "Seedling_Salt_Down" and "Seedling_Salt_Up". The stress-responsive sRNAs enriched in Argonaute 1 were extracted for target prediction and degradome sequencing data-based validation, which enabled network construction. Within certain subnetworks, some target genes were further supported by microarray data. Literature mining indicated that certain targets were potentially involved in stress response. These results demonstrate that the established networks are biologically meaningful. We discovered that in some cases, one sRNA sequence could be assigned to two or more categories. Moreover, within certain target-centered subnetworks, one transcript was regulated by several stress-responsive sRNAs assigned to different categories. It implies that these subnetworks are potentially implicated in stress signal crosstalk. Together, our results could advance the current understanding of the biological role of plant sRNAs in stress signaling.