The OsERF115/AP2EREBP110 Transcription Factor Is Involved in the Multiple Stress Tolerance to Heat and Drought in Rice Plants.

Seong-Im Park,Kyung-Hwan Kim,Hyeok Jin Kwon,In Sun Yoon,Song Lim Kim,Jeongho Baek,Ji Sun Song,Hyeonso Ji,Taek-Ryoun Kwon,Beom-Gi Kim,Mi Hyeon Cho

doi:10.3390/ijms22137181

Seong-Im Park, Kyung-Hwan Kim + Show 9 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22137181

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Abstract

The AP2/EREBP family transcription factors play important roles in a wide range of stress tolerance and hormone signaling. In this study, a heat-inducible rice ERF gene was isolated and functionally characterized. The OsERF115/AP2EREBP110 was categorized to Group-IIIc of the rice AP2/EREBP family and strongly induced by heat and drought treatment. The OsERF115/AP2EREBP110 protein targeted to nuclei and suppressed the ABA-induced transcriptional activation of Rab16A promoter in rice protoplasts. Overexpression of OsERF115/AP2EREBP110 enhanced thermotolerance of seeds and vegetative growth stage plants. The OsERF115/AP2EREBP110 overexpressing (OE) plants exhibited higher proline level and increased expression of a proline biosynthesis P5CS1 gene. Phenotyping of water use dynamics of the individual plant indicates that the OsERF115/AP2EREBP110-OE plant exhibited better water saving traits under heat and drought combined stress. Our combined results suggest the potential use of OsERF115/AP2EREBP110 as a candidate gene for genetic engineering approaches to develop heat and drought stress-tolerant crops.

Highlights

Our results suggest that OsERF115/AP2EREBP110 is a promising candidate for the transgenic breeding of plants with enhanced tolerance to both heat and drought stress
OsERF115/AP2EREBP110 Was Identified as a Heat-Inducible Transcription Factor by Microarray Analysis of Ripening Rice Seeds
Our results indicate that OsERF115/AP2EREBP110 is a heat-responsive gene in seeds and vegetative seedlings (Figure 1) and exhibits a high gene expression level in response to drought stress (Figure 1c,d)

Summary

Introduction

Global food security is being challenged by the rapid growth of the world’s population and extreme climate change [1]. Representative environmental stresses caused by climate change, have become major limiting factors affecting crop productivity and food security [2]. The increase in annual average temperature due to increased concentration of greenhouse gases has led to the simultaneous occurrence of heat and drought stressors on arable land worldwide [4]. These studies predict that extreme drought conditions and increasing temperature is expected to worsen in the coming decades

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