Expression patterns of ABA-dependent and ABA-independent genes during wheat cold adaptation

Abstract

The gene expression patterns of transcription factors CBF4, MYB80, and Wabi5 and Cor genes for cold responsive proteins Wrab17, Wrab19, Wcs120 and Wcor15 in wheat Triticum aestivum seedling leaves that were cold-adapted for 7 days at 4°C were studied. The elevation of the expression of ABA-dependent genes CBF4, MYB80, and Wabi5 in winter wheat cv. Moskovskaya 39 and spring wheat cv. Leningradskaya 97 was found already after 15 min of cold adaptation. In spring wheat, the enhancement of Wcor15 and Wrab19 gene expression was also observed in the initial stages, after 15 and 30 min of cold adaptation, respectively, whereas the manifold increase in the Wrab17 and Wcs120 gene expression occurred after 24 h, when the cold hardiness notably grew. It was concluded that the development of cold hardiness of both winter and spring wheat was related to the enhancement in the expression of the genes for transcription factors CBF4, MYB80, and Wabi5 as well as the ABA-dependent (Wrab17 and Wrab19) and ABA-independent (Wcor15 and Wcs120) Cor genes.