Abstract
The plant-specific transcription factors TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLO IDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR1 (TCP) act as developmental regulators that have many roles in the growth and development processes throughout the entire life span of plants. TCP transcription factors are responsive to endogenous and environmental signals, such as salt stress. However, studies on the role of the TCP genes in salt stress response have rarely focused on woody plants, especially forest trees. In this study, the BpTCP3 gene, a CYC/TB1 subfamily member, isolated from Betula platyphylla Sukaczev, was significantly influenced by salt stress. The β-glucuronidase (GUS) staining analysis of transgenic B. platyphylla harboring the BpTCP3 promoter fused to the reporter gene GUS (pBpTCP3::GUS) further confirmed that the BpTCP3 gene acts a positive regulatory position in salt stress. Under salt stress, we found that the BpTCP3 overexpressed lines had increased relative/absolute high growth but decreased salt damage index, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels versus wild-type (WT) plants. Conversely, the BpTCP3 suppressed lines exhibited sensitivity to salt stress. These results indicate that the BpTCP3 transcription factor improves the salt tolerance of B. platyphylla by reducing reactive oxygen species damage, which provides useful clues for the functions of the CYC/TB1 subfamily gene in the salt stress response of B. platyphylla.
Highlights
Environmental challenges, such as drought, saline–alkali soil, extreme temperature, and flooding stress, have serious effects on the growth and development of plants
We focused on the two genes belonging to the CYC/TB1 subclass of the class II TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLO IDEA/ PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR1 (TCP) family of B. platyphylla, BpTCP3 and BpTCP12
We principally focused on the role of BpTCP3, a CYC/TB1 subclass of the TCP gene family of B. platyphylla
Summary
Environmental challenges, such as drought, saline–alkali soil, extreme temperature, and flooding stress, have serious effects on the growth and development of plants. Transcription factors containing the bHLH basic domain play critical roles in several types of environmental stresses [4]. Members of TCP transcription factors are a small family of plant-specific transcription factors, which contain a 59-amino acid basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) motif that classifies the TCP family into two groups, known as Class I (or PCF or TCP-P) and Class II (or TCP-C) [6,7]. Martin-Trillo et al proposed that the role of the TCP protein as a transcriptional activator or repressor does not seem to be determined by the type of TCP domain but rather depends on its interaction with other proteins [9]. Van Es et al proposed from the comprehensive phenotypic analysis of TCP mutant plants that the complex functions of Class I and Class II TCPs in plant growth depend on the developmental stage or species-specific differences instead of full genetic redundancy [10]
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