Abstract
Copper is a mineral element essential for the normal growth and development of plants; however, excessive levels can severely affect plant growth and development. Oryza sativa L. multiple stress-responsive gene 3 (OsMSR3) is a small, low-molecular-weight heat shock protein (HSP) gene. A previous study has shown that OsMSR3 expression improves the tolerance of Arabidopsis to cadmium stress. However, the role of OsMSR3 in the Cu stress response of plants remains unclear, and, thus, this study aimed to elucidate this phenomenon in Arabidopsis thaliana, to further understand the role of small HSPs (sHSPs) in heavy metal resistance in plants. Under Cu stress, transgenic A. thaliana expressing OsMSR3 showed higher tolerance to Cu, longer roots, higher survival rates, biomass, and relative water content, and accumulated more Cu, abscisic acid (ABA), hydrogen peroxide, chlorophyll, carotenoid, superoxide dismutase, and peroxidase than wild-type plants did. Moreover, OsMSR3 expression in A. thaliana increased the expression of antioxidant-related and ABA-responsive genes. Collectively, our findings suggest that OsMSR3 played an important role in regulating Cu tolerance in plants and improved their tolerance to Cu stress through enhanced activation of antioxidative defense mechanisms and positive regulation of ABA-responsive gene expression.
Highlights
Copper is an essential mineral element for the normal growth and development of plants
Expression of OsMSR3 is Induced by Cu Stress
Heavy metal pollution in soils is an emerging worldwide threat owing to its adverse effects on environmental safety [43]
Summary
Copper is an essential mineral element for the normal growth and development of plants. Cu-deficient soils affect the quality and quantity of plant food crops and reduce their nutritional value as the main source of essential minerals for humans [7]. Exposure of plants to excess Cu interferes with normal growth, proliferation, and differentiation of most plant cells [8,9,10,11,12,13,14]. Excessive accumulation of Cu in plants leads to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are toxic owing to their high redox activity [21]
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