The Drought-Mediated Soybean GmNAC085 Functions as a Positive Regulator of Plant Response to Salinity

Abiotic stress factors, such as drought and salinity, are known to negatively affect plant growth and development. To cope with these adverse conditions, plants have utilized certain defense mechanisms involved in various aspects, including morphological, biochemical and molecular alterations. Particularly, a great deal of evidence for the biological importance of the plant-specific NAM, ATAF1/2, CUC2 (NAC) transcription factors (TFs) in plant adaptation to abiotic stress conditions has been reported. A previous in planta study conducted by our research group demonstrated that soybean (Glycine max) GmNAC085 mediated drought resistance in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. In this study, further characterization of GmNAC085 function in association with salt stress was performed. The findings revealed that under this condition, transgenic soybean plants overexpressing GmNAC085 displayed better germination rates than wild-type plants. In addition, biochemical and transcriptional analyses showed that the transgenic plants acquired a better defense system against salinity-induced oxidative stress, with higher activities of antioxidant enzymes responsible for scavenging hydrogen peroxide or superoxide radicals. Higher transcript levels of several key stress-responsive genes involved in the proline biosynthetic pathway, sodium ion transporter and accumulation of dehydrins were also observed, indicating better osmoprotection and more efficient ion regulation capacity in the transgenic lines. Taken together, these findings and our previous report indicate that GmNAC085 may play a role as a positive regulator in plant adaptation to drought and salinity conditions.

Histidine Kinases: Diverse Functions in Plant Development and Responses to Environmental Conditions

The two-component system (TCS), which is one of the most evolutionarily conserved signaling pathway systems, has been known to regulate multiple biological activities and environmental responses in plants. Significant progress has been made in characterizing the biological functions of the TCS components, including signal receptor histidine kinase (HK) proteins, signal transducer histidine-containing phosphotransfer proteins, and effector response regulator proteins. In this review, our scope is focused on the diverse structure, subcellular localization, and interactions of the HK proteins, as well as their signaling functions during development and environmental responses across different plant species. Based on data collected from scientific studies, knowledge about acting mechanisms and regulatory roles of HK proteins is presented. This comprehensive summary ofthe HK-related network provides a panorama of sophisticated modulating activities of HK members and gaps in understanding these activities, as well as the basis for developing biotechnological strategies to enhance the quality of crop plants.

Ectopic expression of GmHP08 enhances resistance of transgenic Arabidopsis toward drought stress

Ectopic expression of Glycine max two-component system member GmHP08 in Arabidopsis enhanced drought tolerance of transgenic plants, possibly via ABA-dependent pathways. Phosphorelay by two-component system (TCS) is a signal transduction mechanism which has been evolutionarily conserved in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Previous studies have provided lines of evidence on the involvement of TCS genes in plant perception and responses to environmental stimuli. In this research, drought-associated functions of GmHP08, a TCS member from soybean (Glycine max L.), were investigated via its ectopic expression in Arabidopsis system. Results from the drought survival assay showed that GmHP08-transgenic plants exhibited higher survival rates compared with their wild-type (WT) counterparts, indicating better drought resistance of the former group. Analyses revealed that the transgenic plants outperformed the WT in various regards, i.e. capability of water retention, prevention of hydrogen peroxide accumulation and enhancement of antioxidant enzymatic activities under water-deficit conditions. Additionally, the expression of stress-marker genes, especially antioxidant enzyme-encoding genes, in the transgenic plants were found greater than that of the WT plants. In contrary, the expression of SAG13 gene, one of the senescence-associated genes, and of several abscisic acid (ABA)-related genes was repressed. Data from this study also revealed that the ectopic expression lines at germination and early seedling development stages were hypersensitive to exogenous ABA treatment. Taken together, our results demonstrated that GmHP08 could play an important role in mediating plant response to drought, possibly via an ABA-dependent manner.

Protein Phosphatase Type 2C Functions in Phytohormone-Dependent Pathways and in Plant Responses to Abiotic Stresses

Plants, as sessile organisms, are susceptible to a myriad of stress factors, especially abiotic stresses. Over the course of evolution, they have developed multiple mechanisms to sense and transduce environmental stimuli for appropriate responses. Among those, phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, regulated by protein kinases and protein phosphatases, respectively, are considered as crucial signal transduction mechanisms. Regarding the latter group, protein phosphatases type 2C (PP2Cs) represent the largest division of PPs. In addition, discovery of regulatory functions of PP2Cs in abscisic acid (ABA)-signaling pathway, the major signal transduction pathway in abiotic stress responses, indicates significant importance of PP2C members in plant adaptation to adverse environmental factors. In this review, current understanding of the roles of PP2Cs in different phytohormone-dependent pathways related to abiotic stress is summarized, highlighting the crosstalk between the ABA-signaling pathway with other hormonal pathways via certain ABA-related PP2Cs. We also updated progress of in planta characterization studies of PP2Cs under abiotic stress conditions, providing knowledge of PP2C manipulation in developing abiotic stress-tolerant crops.

Heterologous Expression of a Soybean Gene RR34 Conferred Improved Drought Resistance of Transgenic Arabidopsis

Two-component systems (TCSs) have been identified as participants in mediating plant response to water deficit. Nevertheless, insights of their contribution to plant drought responses and associated regulatory mechanisms remain limited. Herein, a soybean response regulator (RR) gene RR34, which is the potential drought-responsive downstream member of a TCS, was ectopically expressed in the model plant Arabidopsis for the analysis of its biological roles in drought stress response. Results from the survival test revealed outstanding recovery ratios of 52%-53% in the examined transgenic lines compared with 28% of the wild-type plants. Additionally, remarkedly lower water loss rates in detached leaves as well as enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase were observed in the transgenic group. Further transcriptional analysis of a subset of drought-responsive genes demonstrated higher expression in GmRR34-transgenic plants upon exposure to drought, including abscisic acid (ABA)-related genes NCED3, OST1, ABI5, and RAB18. These ectopic expression lines also displayed hypersensitivity to ABA treatment at germination and post-germination stages. Collectively, these findings indicated the ABA-associated mode of action of GmRR34 in conferring better plant performance under the adverse drought conditions.

Role and Regulation of Cytokinins in Plant Response to Drought Stress

Cytokinins (CKs) are key phytohormones that not only regulate plant growth and development but also mediate plant tolerance to drought stress. Recent advances in genome-wide association studies coupled with in planta characterization have opened new avenues to investigate the drought-responsive expression of CK metabolic and signaling genes, as well as their functions in plant adaptation to drought. Under water deficit, CK signaling has evolved as an inter-cellular communication network which is essential to crosstalk with other types of phytohormones and their regulating pathways in mediating plant stress response. In this review, we revise the current understanding of CK involvement in drought stress tolerance. Particularly, a genetic framework for CK signaling and CK crosstalk with abscisic acid (ABA) in the precise monitoring of drought responses is proposed. In addition, the potential of endogenous CK alteration in crops towards developing drought-tolerant crops is also discussed.

The Soybean GmNAC019 Transcription Factor Mediates Drought Tolerance in Arabidopsis in an Abscisic Acid-Dependent Manner

Being master regulators of gene expression, transcription factors (TFs) play important roles in determining plant growth, development and reproduction. To date, many TFs have been shown to positively mediate plant responses to environmental stresses. In the current study, the biological functions of a stress-responsive NAC [NAM (No Apical Meristem), ATAF1/2 (Arabidopsis Transcription Activation Factor1/2), CUC2 (Cup-shaped Cotyledon2)]-TF encoding gene isolated from soybean (GmNAC019) in relation to plant drought tolerance and abscisic acid (ABA) responses were investigated. By using a heterologous transgenic system, we revealed that transgenic Arabidopsis plants constitutively expressing the GmNAC019 gene exhibited higher survival rates in a soil-drying assay, which was associated with lower water loss rate in detached leaves, lower cellular hydrogen peroxide content and stronger antioxidant defense under water-stressed conditions. Additionally, the exogenous treatment of transgenic plants with ABA showed their hypersensitivity to this phytohormone, exhibiting lower rates of seed germination and green cotyledons. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that GmNAC019 functions as a positive regulator of ABA-mediated plant response to drought, and thus, it has potential utility for improving plant tolerance through molecular biotechnology.

Ectopic Expression of Glycine maxGmNAC109 Enhances Drought Tolerance and ABA Sensitivity in Arabidopsis

The NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, CUC2) transcription factors are widely known for their various functions in plant development and stress tolerance. Previous studies have demonstrated that genetic engineering can be applied to enhance drought tolerance via overexpression/ectopic expression of NAC genes. In the present study, the dehydration- and drought-inducible GmNAC109 from Glycine max was ectopically expressed in Arabidopsis (GmNAC109-EX) plants to study its biological functions in mediating plant adaptation to water deficit conditions. Results revealed an improved drought tolerance in the transgenic plants, which displayed greater recovery rates by 20% to 54% than did the wild-type plants. In support of this finding, GmNAC109-EX plants exhibited lower water loss rates and decreased endogenous hydrogen peroxide production in leaf tissues under drought, as well as higher sensitivity to exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) treatment at germination and early seedling development stages. In addition, analyses of antioxidant enzymes indicated that GmNAC109-EX plants possessed stronger activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase under drought stress. These results together demonstrated that GmNAC109 acts as a positive transcriptional regulator in the ABA-signaling pathway, enabling plants to cope with adverse water deficit conditions.

Transcription Factors and Their Roles in Signal Transduction in Plants under Abiotic Stresses

In agricultural production, abiotic stresses are known as the main disturbance leading to negative impacts on crop performance. Research on elucidating plant defense mechanisms against the stresses at molecular level has been addressed for years in order to identify the major contributors in boosting the plant tolerance ability. From literature, numerous genes from different species, and from both functional and regulatory gene categories, have been suggested to be on the list of potential candidates for genetic engineering. Noticeably, enhancement of plant stress tolerance by manipulating expression of Transcription Factors (TFs) encoding genes has emerged as a popular approach since most of them are early stress-responsive genes and control the expression of a set of downstream target genes. Consequently, there is a higher chance to generate novel cultivars with better tolerance to either single or multiple stresses. Perhaps, the difficult task when deploying this approach is selecting appropriate gene(s) for manipulation. In this review, on the basis of the current findings from molecular and post-genomic studies, our interest is to highlight the current understanding of the roles of TFs in signal transduction and mediating plant responses towards abiotic stressors. Furthermore, interactions among TFs within the stress-responsive network will be discussed. The last section will be reserved for discussing the potential applications of TFs for stress tolerance improvement in plants.

Transcription Factors and Their Roles in Signal Transduction in Plants under Abiotic Stresses

In agricultural production, abiotic stresses are known as the main disturbance leading to negative impacts on crop performance. Research on elucidating plant defense mechanisms against the stresses at molecular level has been addressed for years in order to identify the major contributors in boosting the plant tolerance ability. From literature, numerous genes from different species, and from both functional and regulatory gene categories, have been suggested to be on the list of potential candidates for genetic engineering. Noticeably, enhancement of plant stress tolerance by manipulating expression of Transcription Factors (TFs) encoding genes has emerged as a popular approach since most of them are early stress-responsive genes and control the expression of a set of downstream target genes. Consequently, there is a higher chance to generate novel cultivars with better tolerance to either single or multiple stresses. Perhaps, the difficult task when deploying this approach is selecting appropriate gene(s) for manipulation. In this review, on the basis of the current findings from molecular and post-genomic studies, our interest is to highlight the current understanding of the roles of TFs in signal transduction and mediating plant responses towards abiotic stressors. Furthermore, interactions among TFs within the stress-responsive network will be discussed. The last section will be reserved for discussing the potential applications of TFs for stress tolerance improvement in plants.

Role of Ethylene and Its Cross Talk with Other Signaling Molecules in Plant Responses to Heavy Metal Stress

Excessive heavy metals (HMs) in agricultural lands cause toxicities to plants, resulting in declines in crop productivity. Recent advances in ethylene biology research have established that ethylene is not only responsible for many important physiological activities in plants but also plays a pivotal role in HM stress tolerance. The manipulation of ethylene in plants to cope with HM stress through various approaches targeting either ethylene biosynthesis or the ethylene signaling pathway has brought promising outcomes. This review covers ethylene production and signal transduction in plant responses to HM stress, cross talk between ethylene and other signaling molecules under adverse HM stress conditions, and approaches to modify ethylene action to improve HM tolerance. From our current understanding about ethylene and its regulatory activities, it is believed that the optimization of endogenous ethylene levels in plants under HM stress would pave the way for developing transgenic crops with improved HM tolerance.

Differential expression analysis of a subset of GmNAC genes in shoots of two contrasting drought-responsive soybean cultivars DT51 and MTD720 under normal and drought conditions

NAC transcription factors are known to be involved in regulation of plant responses to drought stress. In this study, the expression of 23 drought-responsive GmNAC genes was assessed in the shoot tissues of DT51 and MTD720, the two soybean varieties with contrasting drought-responsive phenotypes, by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) under normal and drought conditions. Results indicated that expression profile of GmNAC genes was genotype-dependent, and six GmNACs (GmNAC019, 043, 062, 085, 095 and 101) had higher transcript levels in the shoots of the drought-tolerant DT51 in comparison with the drought-sensitive MTD720 under drought. Our study suggests a positive correlation between the higher drought tolerance degree of DT51 versus MTD720 and the up-regulation of at least these six drought-responsive GmNACs in the shoot tissues. Furthermore, on the basis of our analysis, three genes, GmNAC043, 085 and 101, were identified as promising candidates for development of drought-tolerant soybean cultivars by genetic engineering.

Differential expression analysis of a subset of GmNAC genes in shoots of two contrasting drought-responsive soybean cultivars DT51 and MTD720 under normal and drought conditions

NAC transcription factors are known to be involved in regulation of plant responses to drought stress. In this study, the expression of 23 drought-responsive GmNAC genes was assessed in the shoot tissues of DT51 and MTD720, the two soybean varieties with contrasting drought-responsive phenotypes, by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) under normal and drought conditions. Results indicated that expression profile of GmNAC genes was genotype-dependent, and six GmNACs (GmNAC019, 043, 062, 085, 095 and 101) had higher transcript levels in the shoots of the drought-tolerant DT51 in comparison with the drought-sensitive MTD720 under drought. Our study suggests a positive correlation between the higher drought tolerance degree of DT51 versus MTD720 and the up-regulation of at least these six drought-responsive GmNACs in the shoot tissues. Furthermore, on the basis of our analysis, three genes, GmNAC043, 085 and 101, were identified as promising candidates for development of drought-tolerant soybean cultivars by genetic engineering.

Evaluation of drought tolerance of the Vietnamese soybean cultivars provides potential resources for soybean production and genetic engineering

Drought is one of the greatest constraints to soybean production in many countries, including Vietnam. Although a wide variety of the newly produced cultivars have been produced recently in Vietnam through classical breeding to cope with water shortage, little knowledge of their molecular and physiological responses to drought has been discovered. This study was conducted to quickly evaluate drought tolerance of thirteen local soybean cultivars for selection of the best drought-tolerant cultivars for further field test. Differences in drought tolerance of cultivars were assessed by root and shoot lengths, relative water content, and drought-tolerant index under both normal and drought conditions. Our data demonstrated that DT51 is the strongest drought-tolerant genotype among all the tested cultivars, while the highest drought-sensitive phenotype was observed with MTD720. Thus, DT51 could be subjected to further yield tests in the field prior to suggesting it for use in production. Due to their contrasting drought-tolerant phenotypes, DT51 and MTD720 provide excellent genetic resources for further studies underlying mechanisms regulating drought responses and gene discovery. Our results provide vital information to support the effort of molecular breeding and genetic engineering to improve drought tolerance of soybean.

Differential expression analysis of a subset of drought-responsive GmNAC genes in two soybean cultivars differing in drought tolerance

The plant-specific NAC transcription factors play important roles in plant response to drought stress. Here, we have compared the expression levels of a subset of GmNAC genes in drought-tolerant DT51 and drought-sensitive MTD720 under both normal and drought stress conditions aimed at identifying correlation between GmNAC expression levels and drought tolerance degree, as well as potential GmNAC candidates for genetic engineering. The expression of 23 selected dehydration-responsive GmNACs was assessed in both stressed and unstressed root tissues of DT51 and MTD720 using real-time quantitative PCR. The results indicated that expression of GmNACs was genotype-dependent. Seven and 13 of 23 tested GmNACs showed higher expression levels in roots of DT51 in comparison with MTD720 under normal and drought stress conditions, respectively, whereas none of them displayed lower transcript levels under any conditions. This finding suggests that the higher drought tolerance of DT51 might be positively correlated with the higher induction of the GmNAC genes during water deficit. The drought-inducible GmNAC011 needs to be mentioned as its transcript accumulation was more than 76-fold higher in drought-stressed DT51 roots relative to MTD720 roots. Additionally, among the GmNAC genes examined, GmNAC085, 092, 095, 101 and 109 were not only drought-inducible but also more highly up-regulated in DT51 roots than in that of MTD720 under both treatment conditions. These data together suggest that GmNAC011, 085, 092, 095, 101 and 109 might be promising candidates for improvement of drought tolerance in soybean by biotechnological approaches.