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Abstract
BackgroundEven though bicarbonate alkaline stress is a serious threat to crop growth and yields, it attracts much fewer researches than high salinity stress. The basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors have been well demonstrated to function in diverse abiotic stresses; however, their biological role in alkaline tolerance still remains elusive. In this study, we functionally characterized a bZIP gene from Glycine soja GsbZIP67 in bicarbonate alkaline stress responses.ResultsGsbZIP67 was initially identified as a putative bicarbonate responsive gene, on the basis of previous RNA-seq data of 50 mM NaHCO3-treated Glycine soja roots. GsbZIP67 protein possessed a conserved bZIP domain, and belonged to the group S2 bZIP, which is yet less well-studied. Our studies showed that GsbZIP67 targeted to nucleus in Arabidopsis protoplasts, and displayed transcriptional activation activity in yeast cells. The quantitative real-time PCR analyses unraveled the bicarbonate stress responsive expression and tissue specific expression of GsbZIP67 in wild soybean. Further phenotypic analysis illustrated that GsbZIP67 overexpression in alfalfa promoted plant growth under bicarbonate alkaline stress, as evidenced by longer roots and shoots. Furthermore, GsbZIP67 overexpression also modified the physiological indices of transgenic alfalfa under bicarbonate alkaline stress. In addition, the expression levels of several stress responsive genes were also augmented by GsbZIP67 overexpression.ConclusionsCollectively, in this study, we demonstrated that GsbZIP67 acted as a positive regulator of plant tolerance to bicarbonate alkaline stress. These results provide direct genetic evidence of group S2 bZIPs in bicarbonate alkaline stress, and will facilitate further studies concerning the cis-elements and/or downstream genes targeted by GsbZIP67 in stress responses.
Highlights
Even though bicarbonate alkaline stress is a serious threat to crop growth and yields, it attracts much fewer researches than high salinity stress
Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of GsbZIP67 Based on previous wild soybean RNA-seq data [14], Glyma08g28220 encoding a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) Transcription factor (TF) was identified as a putative bicarbonate alkaline stress responsive gene
Previous studies have shown that Arabidopsis bZIP family was divided into 10 groups [3]
Summary
Even though bicarbonate alkaline stress is a serious threat to crop growth and yields, it attracts much fewer researches than high salinity stress. The basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors have been well demonstrated to function in diverse abiotic stresses; their biological role in alkaline tolerance still remains elusive. We functionally characterized a bZIP gene from Glycine soja GsbZIP67 in bicarbonate alkaline stress responses. As direct regulators of gene expression, transcription factors (TFs) influence essentially all aspects of plant growth and development, as well as stress responses. Wu et al BMC Plant Biology (2018) 18:234 a basic region responsible for sequence-specific DNA binding, and a leucine zipper domain required for homo −/hetero-dimerization [3]. Group A bZIPs are well characterized to mediate ABA and stress responses, while group D bZIPs are involved in development and pathogen defense. The biological functions of group S2/S3 bZIPs have not been unraveled until now
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