Expression patterns of ERF genes underlying abiotic stresses in di-haploid Populus simonii × P. nigra.

Shengji Wang,Boru Zhou,Wenjing Yao,Tingbo Jiang,Hairong Wei

doi:10.1155/2014/745091

Shengji Wang, Boru Zhou + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/745091

Copy DOI

Abstract

176 ERF genes from Populus were identified by bioinformatics analysis, 13 of these in di-haploid Populus simonii × P. nigra were investigate by real-time RT-PCR, the results demonstrated that 13 ERF genes were highly responsive to salt stress, drought stress and ABA treatment, and all were expressed in root, stem, and leaf tissues, whereas their expression levels were markedly different in the various tissues. In roots, PthERF99, 110, 119, and 168 were primarily downregulated under drought and ABA treatment but were specifically upregulated under high salt condition. Interestingly, in poplar stems, all ERF genes showed the similar trends in expression in response to NaCl stress, drought stress, and ABA treatment, indicating that they may not play either specific or unique roles in stems in abiotic stress responses. In poplar leaves, PthERF168 was highly induced by ABA treatment, but was suppressed by high salinity and drought stresses, implying that PthERF168 participated in the ABA signaling pathway. The results of this study indicated that ERF genes could play essential but distinct roles in various plant tissues in response to different environment cues and hormonal treatment.

Highlights

IntroductionAP2/ERFs (ethylene response factor) are plants-specific transcription factor family that was firstly identified from tobacco as the binding proteins for reduced sensitivity to disease
AP2/ERFs are plants-specific transcription factor family that was firstly identified from tobacco as the binding proteins for reduced sensitivity to disease
The phylogenetic tree showed that these thirteen genes could be classified into four subgroups: subgroup 1 contained PthERF54, 99, 110, 118, and 168; subgroup 2 included PthERF22, 36, 75, 77, and 80; subgroup 3 consisted of PthERF124 and 154; and subgroup 4 comprised PthERF119 only (Figure 2(b))

Summary

Introduction

AP2/ERFs (ethylene response factor) are plants-specific transcription factor family that was firstly identified from tobacco as the binding proteins for reduced sensitivity to disease. Researches on AP2/ERF transcription factors in various species have shown that AP2/ERFs play an important role in regulating ethylene and drought responsive genes [2,3,4,5,6,7]. AP2 domain can directly interact with DRE/CRT cisacting element or GCC-box cis-acting element, and these elements often present the promoter regions of many stress response and tolerance genes [2, 9]. Through regulating the expression of many target genes, ERF family becomes the central part in plant signal transduction network. Most of the members of the ERF family proteins are directly induced

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion