Modification of GsDREB2 from Glycine soja increases plant tolerance to salt and osmotic stress

doi:10.11686/cyxb2017283

Abstract

Abstract: The DREB transcription factor is a dehydration responsive element (DRE)-binding protein that specifically interacts with the DRE/CRT (C-repeat) cis-acting element in the promoter region of stress-inducible genes. This interaction controls the expression of many stress-inducible genes in plants and can increase plants’ tolerance to drought, low temperature, high salt, and heat. Many studies have reported on the complexity of DREB signal transduction, action, and expression. To explore the role of the DREB2 gene in Glycine soja (GsDREB2), the nucleotides encoding the negative regulatory domain (NRD, amino acid residues 140-204) were deleted from GsDREB2. The transcriptional activation and DRE element-binding capacity were compared between proteins encoded by the full-length gene (FLDREB2) and the truncated gene GsDREB2-mNRD in yeast. The nuclear localization capacity of GsDREB2-mNRD was also evaluated. FLDREB2 and GsDREB2-mNRD were each transferred into Arabidopsis. After screening and testing, the phenotype of the transgenic Arabidopsis lines was evaluated, and their stress tolerance level was determined by measuring their germination rate and fresh weight under salt and osmotic treatments. The results indicated that the amino acid region 140-204 negatively controls the transcriptional activation ability and DNA-binding capacity of DREB2. Both GsDREB2-mNRD and FLDREB2 were located in the nucleus. Transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing GsDREB2-mNRD showed increased tolerance to salt and osmotic stress. The transgenic plants overexpressing GsDREB2-mNRD showed a higher germination rate and fresh weight than those of plants expressing FLGsDREB. These results demonstrate that GsDREB2-mNRD, which encodes a mutated DREB2, can enhance plant tolerance to salt and osmotic stress.

Key words: GsDREB2 gene, negative regulatory domain (NRD), salt stress tolerance, osmotic stress tolerance

CAI Hua, SUN Na, SONG Ting-ting. Modification of GsDREB2 from Glycine soja increases plant tolerance to salt and osmotic stress[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2018, 27(6): 168-176.

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