Abstract
A DREB-type transcription factor gene GmDREBL has been characterized for its functions in oil accumulation in seeds. The gene is specifically expressed in soybean seeds. The GmDREBL is localized in nucleus and has transcriptional activation ability. Overexpression of GmDREBL increased the fatty acid content in the seeds of transgenic Arabidopsis plants. GmDREBL can bind to the promoter region of WRI1 to activate its expression. Several other genes in the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway were also enhanced in the GmDREBL-transgenic plants. The GmDREBL can be up-regulated by GmABI3 and GmABI5. Additionally, overexpression of GmDREBL significantly promoted seed size in transgenic plants compared to that of WT plants. Expression of the DREBL is at higher level on the average in cultivated soybeans than that in wild soybeans. The promoter of the DREBL may have been subjected to selection during soybean domestication. Our results demonstrate that GmDREBL participates in the regulation of fatty acid accumulation by controlling the expression of WRI1 and its downstream genes, and manipulation of the gene may increase the oil contents in soybean plants. Our study provides novel insights into the function of DREB-type transcription factors in oil accumulation in addition to their roles in stress response.
Highlights
Can increase the seed oil contents while manipulating a single fatty acid biosynthesis gene had only very limited effect on the oil content[15,16]
Because the encoded protein was clustered with the DREB subfamily of AP2 family (Fig. 1A), the gene was named as GmDREBL (Glyma12g11150)
Our previous studies have demonstrated that transcription factors GmDof[4], GmDof[11], GmMYB73, GmbZIP123 and GmNFYA play important roles in regulation of seed-related traits and fatty acid biosynthesis[22,25,26,27]
Summary
Can increase the seed oil contents while manipulating a single fatty acid biosynthesis gene had only very limited effect on the oil content[15,16]. Several candidate transcription factors involved in fatty acid biosynthesis and accumulation have been characterized, including WRI18,18,19 and LEC2 (leafy cotyledon2)[20] in Arabidopsis. Through RNA-seq analysis, gene co-expression networks have been identified for soybean seed trait regulation and GmNFYA (nuclear transcription factor Y alpha) is found to enhance seed oil contents in transgenic Arabidopsis plants[26]. A DREB-type (dehydration-responsive element-binding) transcription factor gene GmDREBL, was cloned and found to increase the seed lipid content in the transgenic plants. Our study provides a novel viewpoint into the regulation of the fatty acid accumulation in seeds and should add more understanding of the function for the DREB-type transcription factor gene in soybean
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