Novel DREB A-5 subgroup transcription factors from desert moss (Syntrichia caninervis) confers multiple abiotic stress tolerance to yeast

Transcriptome Profiles Reveals ScDREB10 from Syntrichia caninervis Regulated Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis and Starch/Sucrose Metabolism to Enhance Plant Stress Tolerance

Desiccation is a kind of extreme form of drought stress and desiccation tolerance (DT) is an ancient trait of plants that allows them to survive tissue water potentials reaching -100 MPa or lower. ScDREB10 is a DREB A-5 transcription factor gene from a DT moss named Syntrichia caninervis, which has strong comprehensive tolerance to osmotic and salt stresses. This study delves further into the molecular mechanism of ScDREB10 stress tolerance based on the transcriptome data of the overexpression of ScDREB10 in Arabidopsis under control, osmotic and salt treatments. The transcriptional analysis of weight gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) showed that "phenylpropanoid biosynthesis" and "starch and sucrose metabolism" were key pathways in the network of cyan and yellow modules. Meanwhile, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) also showed that "phenylpropanoid biosynthesis" and "starch and sucrose metabolism" pathways demonstrate the highest enrichment in response to osmotic and salt stress, respectively. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) results confirmed that most genes related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis" and "starch and sucrose metabolism" pathways in overexpressing ScDREB10 Arabidopsis were up-regulated in response to osmotic and salt stresses, respectively. In line with the results, the corresponding lignin, sucrose, and trehalose contents and sucrose phosphate synthase activities were also increased in overexpressing ScDREB10 Arabidopsis under osmotic and salt stress treatments. Additionally, cis-acting promoter element analyses and yeast one-hybrid experiments showed that ScDREB10 was not only able to bind with classical cis-elements, such as DRE and TATCCC (MYBST1), but also bind with unknown element CGTCCA. All of these findings suggest that ScDREB10 may regulate plant stress tolerance by effecting phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and starch and sucrose metabolism pathways. This research provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underpinning ScDREB10-mediated stress tolerance and contributes to deeply understanding the A-5 DREB regulatory mechanism.

ScATG8 Gene Cloned from Desert Moss Syntrichia caninervis Exhibits Multiple Stress Tolerance

Syntrichia caninervis is the dominant species of biological soil crust in the desert, including the Gurbantunggut Desert in China. It is widely distributed in drylands and considered to be a new model of vegetative desiccation tolerance moss. Here, we cloned an ATG8 gene from S. caninervis and confirmed its function under multiple abiotic stresses, both in situ and in Physcomitrium patens. The results showed that the ScATG8 gene encoded a protein with a highly conserved ATG8 functional domain. ScATG8 gene was increasingly expressed under different abiotic stresses. Under desiccation stress, the overexpression of ScATG8 enhanced the tolerance of S. caninervis and its ability to scavenge ROS. In addition, ScATG8 overexpression promoted the growth of P. patens under multiple stress conditions. Thus, ScATG8 may be a multifunctional gene, and it plays a critical role in the survival of S. caninervis under various abiotic stresses. Our results provide new insights into the function of ATG8 in enabling desiccation tolerance and open up more possibilities for subsequent plant molecular breeding and the mining of the resistance genes of S. caninervis and other moss species.

Genome-Wide Characterization and Expression Analysis of Transcription Factor Families in Desert Moss Syntrichia caninervis under Abiotic Stresses

Transcription factor (TF) families play important roles in plant stress responses. S. caninervis is a new model moss for plant desiccation tolerance studies. Here, we report a high-confidence identification and characterization of 591 TFs representing 52 families that covered all chromosomes in S. caninervis. GO term and KEGG pathway analysis showed that TFs were involved in the regulation of transcription, DNA-templated, gene expression, binding activities, plant hormone signal transduction, and circadian rhythm. A number of TF promoter regions have a mixture of various hormones-related cis-regulatory elements. AP2/ERF, bHLH, MYB, and C2H2-zinc finger TFs were the overrepresented TF families in S. caninervis, and the detailed classification of each family is performed based on structural features. Transcriptome analysis revealed the transcript abundances of some ScAP2/ERF, bHLH, MYB, and C2H2 genes were accumulated in the treated S. caninervis under cold, dehydration, and rehydration stresses. The RT-qPCR results strongly agreed with RNA-seq analysis, indicating these TFs might play a key role in S. caninervis response to abiotic stress. Our comparative TF characterization and classification provide the foundations for functional investigations of the dominant TF genes involved in S. caninervis stress response, as well as excellent stress tolerance gene resources for plant stress resistance breeding.

Genome-Wide Characterization and Expression Profiling of ABA Biosynthesis Genes in a Desert Moss Syntrichia caninervis

Syntrichia caninervis can survive under 80-90% protoplasmic water losses, and it is a model plant in desiccation tolerance research. A previous study has revealed that S. caninervis would accumulate ABA under dehydration stress, while the ABA biosynthesis genes in S. caninervis are still unknown. This study identified one ScABA1, two ScABA4s, five ScNCEDs, twenty-nine ScABA2s, one ScABA3, and four ScAAOs genes, indicating that the ABA biosynthesis genes were complete in S. caninervis. Gene location analysis showed that the ABA biosynthesis genes were evenly distributed in chromosomes but were not allocated to sex chromosomes. Collinear analysis revealed that ScABA1, ScNCED, and ScABA2 had homologous genes in Physcomitrella patens. RT-qPCR detection found that all of the ABA biosynthesis genes responded to abiotic stress; it further indicated that ABA plays an important role in S. caninervis. Moreover, the ABA biosynthesis genes in 19 representative plants were compared to study their phylogenetic and conserved motifs; the results suggested that the ABA biosynthesis genes were closely associated with plant taxa, but these genes had the same conserved domain in each plant. In contrast, there is a huge variation in the exon number between different plant taxa; it revealed that ABA biosynthesis gene structures are closely related to plant taxa. Above all, this study provides strong evidence demonstrating that ABA biosynthesis genes were conserved in the plant kingdom and deepens our understanding of the evolution of the phytohormone ABA.

Transcriptional profiling analysis providing insights into desiccation tolerance mechanisms of the desert moss Syntrichia caninervis

Syntrichia caninervis is a desiccation tolerant moss and is the dominant bryophyte found in biological soil crusts in the Gurbantunggut desert. In this study, we assessed the transcriptome profiles of S. caninervis gametophytes during the dehydration-rehydration (D-R) process (across 9 time points) using Illumina sequencing. In total, 22489 transcripts were identified, including 5337 novel transcripts, that mapped to the reference genome. A total of 12548 transcripts exhibited significant alterations in the D-R samples compared with the control samples. The differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) possessed several enriched Gene Ontology terms, such as "water stress response", "oxidation-reduction process", "membrane metabolism", "photosynthesis", and "transcription factor activity". Moreover, during early dehydration stress, the DETs were significantly enriched in stress-related pathways from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, such as "phenylpropanoid biosynthesis", "alpha-linolenic acid metabolism", and "fructose and mannose metabolism". Photosynthesis-related transcripts (e.g., ScPsa H, ScRubisco, and ScLhcb1) were inhibited during the dehydration treatment and significantly accumulated during the late rehydration period. Most transcripts from the late embryogenesis abundant proteins (LEA) and early light-inducible protein (ELIP) families strongly accumulated at the late dehydration stage. These pathways were positively correlated with the content changes of absolute water content and Fv/Fm values, alongside peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities. Seven transcription factor families, including AP2-ERF, bHLH, G2-like, MYB, NAC, WRKY, and bZIP, were enriched in DETs during D-R treatment. This study is the first transcriptome analysis using the S. caninervis genome for gene annotation and multigroup D-R treatment points. Our results demonstrated the detailed dynamic changes in the transcriptome of S. caninervis during the D-R process. These results also improve understanding of desiccation tolerant plants' adaptations to desiccation stress at the transcription level and provide promising gene resources for transgenic crop breeding.

The ScAPD1-like gene from the desert moss Syntrichia caninervis enhances resistance to Verticillium dahliae via phenylpropanoid gene regulation

Soloist is a member of a distinct and small subfamily within the AP2/ERF transcriptional factor family that play important roles in plant biotic and abiotic stress responses. There are limited studies of Soloist genes and their functions are poorly understood. We characterized the abiotic and biotic stress tolerance function of the ScSoloist gene (designated as ScAPD1-like) from the desert moss Syntrichia caninervis. ScAPD1-like responded to multiple abiotic, biotic stresses and plant hormone treatments. ScAPD1-like protein located to the nucleus and bound to several DNA elements. Overexpression of ScAPD1-like in Arabidopsis did not alter abiotic stress resistance or inhibit Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000 infection. However, overexpression of ScAPD1-like significantly increased the resistance of transgenic Arabidopsis and S. caninervis to Verticillium dahliae infection, decreased reactive oxygen species accumulation and improved reactive oxygen species scavenging activity. ScAPD1-like overexpression plants altered the abundance of transcripts for lignin synthesis and promoted lignin accumulation in Arabidopsis. ScAPD1-like directly bind to RAV1, AC elements, and TATA-box in the promoters of AtPAL1 and AtC4H genes, respectively, in vitro. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays demonstrated ScAPD1-like directly bound to PAL and C4H genes promoters in Arabidopsis and their homologs in S. caninervis. In S. caninervis, ScAPD1-like overexpression and RNAi directly regulated the abundance of ScPAL and ScC4H transcripts and modified the metabolites of phenylpropanoid pathway. We provide insight into the function of Soloist in plant defense mechanisms that likely occurs through activation of the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway. ScAPD1-like is a promising candidate gene for breeding strategies to improve resistance to Verticillium wilt.

DsDBF1, a Type A-5 DREB Gene, Identified and Characterized in the Moss Dicranum scoparium

Plant dehydration-responsive element binding (DREB) transcription factors (TFs) play important roles during stress tolerance by regulating the expression of numerous genes involved in stresses. DREB TFs have been extensively studied in a variety of angiosperms and bryophytes. To date, no information on the identification and characterization of DREB TFs in Dicranum scoparium has been reported. In this study, a new DBF1 gene from D. scoparium was identified by cloning and sequencing. Analysis of the conserved domain and physicochemical properties revealed that DsDBF1 protein has a classic AP2 domain encoding a 238 amino acid polypeptide with a molecular mass of 26 kDa and a pI of 5.98. Subcellular prediction suggested that DsDBF1 is a nuclear and cytoplasmic protein. Phylogenetic analysis showed that DsDBF1 belongs to group A-5 DREBs. Expression analysis by reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) revealed that DsDBF1 was significantly upregulated in response to abiotic stresses such as desiccation/rehydration, exposure to paraquat, CdCl₂, high and freezing temperatures. Taken together, our data suggest that DsDBF1 could be a promising gene candidate to improve stress tolerance in crop plants, and the characterization of TFs of a stress tolerant moss such as D. scoparium provides a better understanding of plant adaptation mechanisms.

ScCBF1 plays a stronger role in cold, salt and drought tolerance than StCBF1 in potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Solanum tuberosum (St) and Solanum commersonii (Sc) are two potato varieties with different freezing tolerance. Among them, St is a freezing-sensitive variety and. Sc is a cold-resistant wild potato. CBF/DREB family members mainly function in response to freezing stress. In order to explore the different roles of St C-Repeat Binding Factor1 (StCBF1) and Sc C-Repeat Binding Factor1 (ScCBF1) in potato plants (Solanum tuberosum) under stress conditions, two kinds of potato lines were obtained with ScCBF1 and StCBF1 overexpressing respectively. Phenotypes analysis showed that both overexpressing ScCBF1 and StCBF1 caused smaller leaves, and reduced tuber yield. While the limited phenotypes of StCBF1 lines were more severe than that of ScCBF lines. After freezing treatment, StCBF1 over expression plants grown better than WT plants and worse than ScCBF1 over expression plants. Specifically, compared with wild-type lines, overexpressing ScCBF1 could up-regulate fatty acid desaturase genes, key enzyme of Calvin cycle genes, and antioxidant enzyme genes. Both ScCBF1 and StCBF1 lines showed higher PSII activity, thus maintaining a higher photosynthetic rate under cold stress. In addition, we also found that overexpression ScCBF1 and StCBF1 could also enhance the drought and salt tolerance in potato. In summary, ScCBF1 plays a stronger role in cold, salt, and drought tolerance than StCBF1 in potato (Solanum tuberosum).

The DREB A-5 Transcription Factor ScDREB5 From Syntrichia caninervis Enhanced Salt Tolerance by Regulating Jasmonic Acid Biosynthesis in Transgenic Arabidopsis

Salinity is a major limiting factor in crop productivity. Dehydration-responsive element-binding protein (DREB) transcription factors have been widely identified in a variety of plants and play important roles in plant stress responses. Studies on DREBs have primarily focused on the A-1 and A-2 DREB groups, while few have focused on the A-5 group. In this study, we concentrated on ScDREB5, an A-5b type DREB gene from the desiccation-tolerant moss Syntrichia caninervis. ScDREB5 is a transcription factor localized to the nucleus that exhibits transactivation activity in yeast. Ectopic ScDREB5 expression in Arabidopsis thaliana increased seed germination and improved seedling tolerance under salt stress. ScDREB5-overexpression transgenic Arabidopsis lines showed lower methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) contents, but higher peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) activities compared to wild plants. Moreover, the transcriptional levels of stress marker genes, including RD29B, COR47, LEA6, LEA7, ERD1, P5CS1, and salt overly sensitive (SOS) genes (SOS1, SOS2, and SOS3), were upregulated in the transgenic lines when subjected to salt treatment. Transcriptome and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analyses indicated that transgenic lines were accompanied by an increased expression of jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis genes, as well as a higher JA content under salt stress. Our results suggest that ScDREB5 could improve salt tolerance by enhancing the scavenging abilities of reactive oxygen species (ROS), increasing JA content by upregulating JA synthesis gene expression, regulating ion homeostasis by up-regulating stress-related genes, osmotic adjustment, and protein protection, making ScDREB5 a promising candidate gene for crop salt stress breeding.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Salt-Stress-Responsive Genes in Barley Roots and Leaves

Barley is characterized by a rich genetic diversity, making it an important model for studies of salinity response with great potential for crop improvement. Moreover, salt stress severely affects barley growth and development, leading to substantial yield loss. Leaf and root transcriptomes of a salt-tolerant Tunisian landrace (Boulifa) exposed to 2, 8, and 24 h salt stress were compared with pre-exposure plants to identify candidate genes and pathways underlying barley's response. Expression of 3585 genes was upregulated and 5586 downregulated in leaves, while expression of 13,200 genes was upregulated and 10,575 downregulated in roots. Regulation of gene expression was severely impacted in roots, highlighting the complexity of salt stress response mechanisms in this tissue. Functional analyses in both tissues indicated that response to salt stress is mainly achieved through sensing and signaling pathways, strong transcriptional reprograming, hormone osmolyte and ion homeostasis stabilization, increased reactive oxygen scavenging, and activation of transport and photosynthesis systems. A number of candidate genes involved in hormone and kinase signaling pathways, as well as several transcription factor families and transporters, were identified. This study provides valuable information on early salt-stress-responsive genes in roots and leaves of barley and identifies several important players in salt tolerance.

Identification and expression analysis of the DREB transcription factor family in pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.)

Background

Dehydration responsive element-binding (DREB) transcription factors play a crucial role in plant growth, development and stress responses. Although DREB genes have been characterized in many plant species, genome-wide identification of the DREB gene family has not yet been reported in pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.).

Results

Using comprehensive genome-wide screening, we identified 20 AcoDREB genes on 14 chromosomes. These were categorized into five subgroups. AcoDREBs within a group had similar gene structures and domain compositions. Using gene structure analysis, we showed that most AcoDREB genes (75%) lacked introns, and that the promoter regions of all 20 AcoDREB genes had at least one stress response-related cis-element. We identified four genes with high expression levels and six genes with low expression levels in all analyzed tissues. We detected expression changes under abiotic stress for eight selected AcoDREB genes.

Conclusions

This report presents the first genome-wide analysis of the DREB transcription factor family in pineapple. Our results provide preliminary data for future functional analysis of AcoDREB genes in pineapple, and useful information for developing new pineapple varieties with key agronomic traits such as stress tolerance.

Genome-Wide Analysis of the DREB Subfamily in Saccharum spontaneum Reveals Their Functional Divergence During Cold and Drought Stresses

Drought and cold stresses are the main environmental factors that affect the yield of sugarcane, and DREB genes play very important roles in tolerance to drought, cold, and other environmental stresses. In this study, bioinformatics analysis was performed to characterize Saccharum spontaneum SsDREB genes. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to detect the expression profiles of SsDREBs induced by cold and drought stresses. According to our results, there are 110 SsDREB subfamily proteins in S. spontaneum, which can be classified into six groups; 106 of these genes are distributed among 29 chromosomes. Inter- and intraspecies synteny analyses suggested that all DREB groups have undergone gene duplication, highlighting the polyploid events that played an important role in the expansion of the DREB subfamily. Furthermore, RNA-seq results showed that 45 SsDREBs were up- or downregulated under cold stress; 35 of them were found to be involved in responding to drought stress. According to protein–protein interaction analysis, SsDREB100, SsDREB102, and SsDREB105 play key roles during the response to cold stress. These results reveal that functional divergence exists between collinear homologous genes or among common origin genes in the DREB subfamily of S. spontaneum. This study presents a comprehensive analysis and systematic understanding of the precise mechanism of SsDREBs in response to abiotic stress and will lead to improvements in sugarcane.

Constitutive expression of an A-5 subgroup member in the DREB transcription factor subfamily from Ammopiptanthus mongolicus enhanced abiotic stress tolerance and anthocyanin accumulation in transgenic Arabidopsis

Dehydration-responsive element-binding (DREB) transcription factors (TFs) are key regulators of stress-inducible gene expression in plants. Anthocyanins, an important class of flavonoids, protect plants from reactive oxygen species produced under abiotic stresses. However, regulation of DREBs on anthocyanin accumulation is largely unknown. Here, an A-5 subgroup DREB gene (AmDREB3) isolated from Ammopiptanthus mongolicus, a desert broadleaf shrub with very high tolerance to harsh environments, was characterized in terms of both abiotic stress tolerance and anthocyanin accumulation. AmDREB3 does not contain the transcriptional repression motif EAR, and the protein was located in the nucleus and has transcriptional activation capacity. The transcription of AmDREB3 was differentially induced in the shoots and roots of A. mongolicus seedlings under drought, salt, heat, cold, ultraviolet B, and abscisic acid treatments. Moreover, the transcript levels in twigs, young leaves, and roots were higher than in other organs of A. mongolicus shrubs. Constitutively expressing AmDREB3 improved the tolerance of transgenic Arabidopsis to drought, high salinity and heat, likely by inducing the expression of certain stress-inducible genes. The transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings also exhibited an obvious purple coloration and significant increases in anthocyanin accumulation and/or oxidative stress tolerance under drought, salt, and heat stresses. These results suggest that the AmDREB3 TF may be an important positive regulator of both stress tolerance and anthocyanin accumulation.

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Profiling of the ERF Gene Family in Medicago sativa L. Under Various Abiotic Stresses

The AP2/ERF (APETALA2/ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR) transcription factor represents one of the largest plant-specific transcriptional regulators in plants. ERF plays important roles in the regulation of various developmental processes and acts as a mediator in plant external stress responses. However, the research of the ERF gene family is still limited in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), one of the most important forage legume species in the world. In the present study, a total of 159 ERF genes were identified, and the phylogenetic reconstruction, classification, conserved motifs, signal peptide prediction, and expression patterns under salt, drought, and low-temperature stresses of these ERF genes were comprehensively analyzed. The ERF genes family in alfalfa could be classified into 10 groups and predicted to be strongly homologous. Based on the structure and functions relationships, the III and IV subfamilies were more likely to play functions in abiotic stresses and 18 MsERF genes were selected for further quantitative real-time PCR validation in different stresses treatment. The results showed that all these MsERF genes were upregulated under three stresses except MsERF008. This study identified the possibility of abiotic tolerance candidate genes playing various roles in stress resistance at the whole-genome level, which would provide primary understanding for exploring ERF-mediated tolerance in alfalfa.

ScDREB10, an A-5c type of DREB Gene of the Desert Moss Syntrichia caninervis, Confers Osmotic and Salt Tolerances to Arabidopsis

Drought and salinity are major factors limiting crop productivity worldwide. DREB (dehydration-responsive element-binding) transcription factors play important roles in plant stress response and have been identified in a wide variety of plants. Studies on DREB are focused on the A-1 (DREB1) and A-2 (DREB2) groups. Studies on A-5 group DREBs, which represent a large proportion of the DREB subfamily, is limited. In this study, we characterized and analyzed the stress tolerance function of ScDREB10, an A-5c type DREB gene from the desert moss Syntrichia caninervis. Transactivation assay in yeast showed that ScDREB10 had transactivation activity. Transient expression assay revealed that ScDREB10 was distributed both in the nucleus and cytosol of tobacco leaf epidermal cells. Overexpression of ScDREB10 significantly increased the germination percentage of Arabidopsis seeds under osmotic and salt stresses, and improved the osmotic and salt stress tolerances of Arabidopsis at the seedling stage and is associated with the expression of downstream stress-related genes and improved reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging ability. Our study provides insight into the molecular mechanism of stress tolerance of A-5 type DREB proteins, as well as providing a promising candidate gene for crop salt and drought stress breeding.

Identification, Classification, and Functional Analysis of AP2/ERF Family Genes in the Desert Moss Bryum argenteum

Bryum argenteum is a desert moss which shows tolerance to the desert environment and is emerging as a good plant material for identification of stress-related genes. AP2/ERF transcription factor family plays important roles in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. AP2/ERF genes have been identified and extensively studied in many plants, while they are rarely studied in moss. In the present study, we identified 83 AP2/ERF genes based on the comprehensive dehydrationrehydration transcriptomic atlas of B. argenteum. BaAP2/ERF genes can be classified into five families, including 11 AP2s, 43 DREBs, 26 ERFs, 1 RAV, and 2 Soloists. RNA-seq data showed that 83 BaAP2/ERFs exhibited elevated transcript abundances during dehydration⁻rehydration process. We used RT-qPCR to validate the expression profiles of 12 representative BaAP2/ERFs and confirmed the expression trends using RNA-seq data. Eight out of 12 BaAP2/ERFs demonstrated transactivation activities. Seven BaAP2/ERFs enhanced salt and osmotic stress tolerances of yeast. This is the first study to provide detailed information on the identification, classification, and functional analysis of the AP2/ERFs in B. argenteum. This study will lay the foundation for the further functional analysis of these genes in plants, as well as provide greater insights into the molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance of B. argenteum.

Ectopic expression of StCBF1and ScCBF1 have different functions in response to freezing and drought stresses in Arabidopsis

Solanum tuberosum potato species constitute the bulk of economically and agronomically important potato production. However, S. tuberosum is a drought- and frost-sensitive species that is incapable of acclimating to the cold. Solanum commersonii is a tuber-bearing wild potato species that exhibits greater frost and drought resistance than S. tuberosum. CBF/DREB (C-REPET BINDING FACTOR/DROUGHT RESPONSE ELEMENT BINGING FACTOR) transcription factors play important roles in response to a variety of abiotic stresses, such as cold, drought and salt stresses. To explore different functions between S. tuberosum CBF1 (StCBF1) and S. commersonii CBF1 (ScCBF1), Arabidopsis was transformed with the ScCBF1 and StCBF1 genes driven by a constitutive CaMV35S promoter. Our results reveal that the ScCBF1 transgenic lines are much more tolerant to freezing and drought than the StCBF1 transgenic lines. The development of transgenic plants was altered, resulting in dwarf phenotype with delayed flowering and thicker and additional rosette leaves. The expression levels of several COR (COLD-RESPONSIVE) genes and development-related genes, including genes that inhibited plant growth (GA2ox7, RGL3) and delayed flowering (FLC) were higher in transgenic plants. These results suggest that these two potato CBF1 play important roles in the plant response to abiotic stress and can influence plant growth and development, and ScCBF1 plays a more pronounced function than StCBF1.

The transcription factors Hsf1 and Msn2 of thermotolerant Kluyveromyces marxianus promote cell growth and ethanol fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae at high temperatures

BACKGROUND

High temperature inhibits cell growth and ethanol fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. As a complex phenotype, thermotolerance usually involves synergistic actions of many genes, thereby being difficult to engineer. The overexpression of either endogenous or exogenous stress-related transcription factor genes in yeasts was found to be able to improve relevant stress tolerance of the hosts.

RESULTS

To increase ethanol yield of high-temperature fermentation, we constructed a series of strains of S. cerevisiae by expressing 8 transcription factor genes from S. cerevisiae and 7 transcription factor genes from thermotolerant K. marxianus in S. cerevisiae. The results of growth curve measurements and spotting test show that KmHsf1 and KmMsn2 can enhance cell growth of S. cerevisiae at 40-42 °C. According to the results of batch fermentation at 43 °C with an initial glucose concentration of 104.8 g/l, the fermentation broths of KmHSF1 and KmMSN2-expressing strains could reach final ethanol concentrations of 27.2 ± 1.4 and 27.6 ± 1.2 g/l, respectively, while the control strain just produced 18.9 ± 0.3 g/l ethanol. Transcriptomic analysis found that the expression of KmHSF1 and KmMSN2 resulted in 55 (including 31 up-regulated and 24 down-regulated) and 50 (including 32 up-regulated and 18 down-regulated) genes with different expression levels, respectively (padj < 0.05). The results of transcriptomic analysis also reveal that KmHsf1 might increase ethanol production by regulating genes related to transporter activity to limit excessive ATP consumption and promote the uptake of glucose; while KmMsn2 might promote ethanol fermentation by regulating genes associated with glucose metabolic process and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis. In addition, KmMsn2 might also help to cope with high temperature by regulating genes associated with lipid metabolism to change the membrane fluidity.

CONCLUSIONS

The transcription factors KmHsf1 and KmMsn2 of thermotolerant K. marxianus can promote both cell growth and ethanol fermentation of S. cerevisiae at high temperatures. Different mechanisms of KmHsf1 and KmMsn2 in promoting high-temperature ethanol fermentation of S. cerevisiae were revealed by transcriptomic analysis.

Exploration for the Salinity Tolerance-Related Genes from Xero-Halophyte Atriplex canescens Exploiting Yeast Functional Screening System

Plant productivity is limited by salinity stress, both in natural and agricultural systems. Identification of salt stress-related genes from halophyte can provide insights into mechanisms of salt stress tolerance in plants. Atriplex canescens is a xero-halophyte that exhibits optimum growth in the presence of 400 mM NaCl. A cDNA library derived from highly salt-treated A. canescens plants was constructed based on a yeast expression system. A total of 53 transgenic yeast clones expressing enhanced salt tolerance were selected from 10⁵ transformants. Their plasmids were sequenced and the gene characteristics were annotated using a BLASTX search. Retransformation of yeast cells with the selected plasmids conferred salt tolerance to the resulting transformants. The expression patterns of 28 of these stress-related genes were further investigated in A. canescens leaves by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. In this study, we provided a rapid and robust assay system for large-scale screening of genes for varied abiotic stress tolerance with high efficiency in A. canescens.

ScDREB8, a novel A-5 type of DREB gene in the desert moss Syntrichia caninervis, confers salt tolerance to Arabidopsis

Salinity is a major limitation factor for crop productivity worldwide. DREB transcription factors broadly participate in plant stress response and have been extensively identified in a wide variety of plants. In this study, we characterized and analyzed the function of a novel A-5 type DREB gene ScDREB8 from the desiccation tolerant moss Syntrichia caninervis. Yeast one-hybrid experiment showed that ScDREB8 had no transactivation activity. Transient expression assay in onion epidermal cells revealed that ScDREB8 is distributed throughout the cell with no apparent specificity. Overexpression of ScDREB8 significantly increased the germination rate of Arabidopsis under salt stress and improved the salt tolerance of Arabidopsis at the seedling stage by up-regulating the expression of downstream stress-related genes and improving ROS scavenging ability. ScDREB8 is a promising candidate gene for improving crop salt stress and will provide greater insight to the molecular mechanism of stress tolerance of A-5 type DREB proteins.

Populus simonii × Populus nigra WRKY70 is involved in salt stress and leaf blight disease responses

WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are important regulators in the complex stress response signaling networks in plants, but the detailed mechanisms underlying these regulatory networks have not been fully characterized. In the present study, we identified a Group III WRKY gene (PsnWRKY70, Potri.016G137900) from Populussimonii × Populusnigra and explored its function under salt and pathogen stresses. The promoter sequence that is located 2471-bp upstream from the start codon (SC) of PsnWRKY70 contained many stress-responsive cis-elements. Yeast one-hybrid assay suggested the upstream regulators, PsnWRKY70, PsnNAM (Potri.009G141600), PsnMYB (Potri.006G000800) and PsnGT1 (Potri.010G055000), probably modulate the expression of the PsnWRKY70 gene by specifically binding to the W-box or GT1GMSCAM4 (GT1) element. Yeast two-hybrid assay and transcriptome analysis revealed that HP1 (Potri.004G092100), RRM (Potri.008G146700), Ulp1 (Potri.002G105700) and some mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade members probably interact with PsnWRKY70 TF to response to salt stress. Compared with non-transgenic (NT) plants, PsnWRKY70-overexpressing (OEX) plants exhibited improved leaf blight disease resistance, while PsnWRKY70-repressing (REX) plants displayed enhanced salt stress tolerance. PsnWRKY70, PsnNAM, PsnMYB and PsnGT1 exhibited similar expression patterns in NT under salt and leaf blight disease stresses. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from NT vs OEX1 and the DEGs from NT vs REX1 exhibited considerable diversification. Most of the DEGs between NT and OEX1 were involved in aromatic amino acid biosynthesis, secondary metabolism, programmed cell death, peroxisomes and disease resistance. Most of the DEGs between NT and REX1 were related to desiccation response, urea transmembrane transport, abscisic acid response, calcium ion transport and hydrogen peroxide transmembrane transport. Our findings not only revealed the salt stress response signal transduction pathway of PsnWRKY70, but also provided direct evidence for the opposite biological functions of PsnWRKY70 TF in response to salt stress and leaf blight disease in P. simonii × P. nigra.