Nucleotide Variation in the NCED3 Region of Arabidopsis thaliana and its Association Study with Abscisic Acid Content under Drought Stress

Drought tolerance is a comprehensive quantitative trait that is being understood further at the molecular genetic level. Abscisic acid （ABA） is the main drought-induced hormone that regulates the expression of many genes related to drought responses. 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase （NCED3） is thought to be a key enzyme in ABA biosynthesis. In this paper, we measured the ABA content increase under drought stress, and sequenced and compared the sequence of AtNCED3 among 22 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. The results showed that the fold of ABA content increase under drought stress was highly variable among these accessions. High density single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP） and insertion/deletion （indel） were found in the AtNCED3 region, on average one SNP per 87.4 bp and one indel per 502 bp. Nucleotide diversity was significantly lower in the coding region than that in non-coding regions. The results of an association study with ANOVA analysis suggested that the 274th site （P←→S） and the 327th site （P←→R） amino acid variations might be the cause of ABA content increase of 163av accession under drought stress.     

The OsDHODH1 Gene is Involved in Salt and Drought Tolerance in Rice

In the present paper, we identified and cloned OsDHODH1 encoding a putative cytosolic dihydroorotate dehydrogenase （DHODH） in rice. Expression analysis indicated that OsDHODH1 is upregulated by salt, drought and exogenous abscisic acid （ABA）, but not by cold. By prokaryotic expression, we determined the enzymatic activity of OsDHODH1 and found that overproduction of OsDHODH1 significantly improved the tolerance of Escherichia coil cells to salt and osmotic stresses. Overexpression of the OsDHODH1 gene in rice increased the DHODH activity and enhanced plant tolerance to salt and drought stresses as compared with wild type and OsDHODHl-antisense transgenic plants. Our findings reveal, for the first time, that cytosolic dihydroorotate dehydrogenase is involved in plant stress response and that OsDHODH1 could be used in engineering crop plants with enhanced tolerance to salt and drought.     

SUMO E3 Ligase AtMMS21 Regulates Drought Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Post-translational modifications of proteins by small ubiquitin-like modifiers (SUMOs) play crucial roles in plant growth and development, and in stress responses. The MMS21 is a newly-identified Arabidopsis thaliana L. SUMO E3 ligase gene aside from the SIZ1, and its function requires further elucidation. Here, we show that MMS21 deficient plants display improved drought tolerance, and constitutive expression of MMS21 reduces drought tolerance. The expression of MMS21 was reduced by abscisic acid (ABA), polyethylene glycol (PEG) or drought stress. Under drought conditions, mms21 mutants showed the highest survival rate and the slowest water loss, and accumulated a higher level of free proline compared to wild-type (WT) and MMS21 over-expression plants. Stomatal aperture, seed germination and cotyledon greening analysis indicated that mms21 was hypersensitive to ABA. Molecular genetic analysis revealed that MMS21 deficiency led to elevated expression of a series of ABA-mediated stress-responsive genes, including COR15A, RD22, and P5CS1 The ABA and drought-induced stress-responsive genes, including RAB18, RD29A and RD29B, were inhibited by constitutive expression of MMS21. Moreover, ABA-induced accumulation of SUMO-protein conjugates was blocked in the mms21 mutant. We thus conclude that MMS21 plays a role in the drought stress response, likely through regulation of gene expression in an ABA-dependent pathway.     

Metabolite Transporter Regulation of ABA Function and Guard Cell Response

Pairs of guard cells form stomatal pores through which gas exchange occurs. Gas exchange includes transpirational water loss, and guard cell signaling in drought response has been studied for decades. Abscisic acid （ABA） is the major hormone that regulates drought responses. ABA and other metabolites can be synthesized in one cell type or subcellular compartment and transported across mem- branes by specific transporters to conduct biological func- tions. Two new papers, both taking advantage of reverse genetic methods, one focusing on a plasma membrane ABA efflux carrier （Zhang et al., 2014） and the other on a putative mitochondrial pyruvate carrier （Li et al., 2014）, have recently shown the importance of metabolite trans- porters in ABA function and guard cell response.     

Rhizosheath formation and involvement in foxtail millet(Setaria italica) root growth under drought stress

The rhizosheath, a layer of soil particles that adheres firmly to the root surface by a combination of root hairs and mucilage, may improve tolerance to drought stress. Setaria italica(L.) P. Beauv.(foxtail millet), a member of the Poaceae family, is an important food and fodder crop in arid regions and forms a larger rhizosheath under drought conditions. Rhizosheath formation under drought conditions has been studied, but the regulation of root hair growth and rhizosheath size in response to soil moisture remains unclear. To address this question, in this study we monitored root hair growth and rhizosheath development in response to a gradual decline in soil moisture. Here, we determined that a soil moisture level of 10%–14%(w/w)stimulated greater rhizosheath production compared to other soil moisture levels. Root hair density and length also increased at this soil moisture level, which was validated by measurement of the expression of root hair-related genes.These findings contribute to our understanding of rhizosheath formation in response to soil water stress.     

35S::GmPM30在拟南芥的根系生长中表现为对ABA的敏感性降低(英文)

LEA protein,late-embryogenesis-abundant protein,is importantin response to thesalt and drought stresses in plants.Here,weidentified a cDNA full length of LEA from soybean and found that LEA enhance the ability of anti-salinity in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana.The expression of GmPM30 increases highly under salinity,cold or ABA treatment,and enhances by certain degree under drought stress.The germination rates,primary root lengths and survival rate of GmPM30 over-expression lines are obviously higher than that of the wild-type after suffering the salinity stress.Our studies displays that GmPM30-ox apparently enhances the tolerance to salinity in Arabidopsis thaliana.     

SCAB1 coordinates sequential Ca2+ and ABA signals during osmotic stress induced stomatal closure in Arabidopsis

Hyperosmotic stress caused by drought is a detrimental threat to plant growth and agricultural productivity due to limited water availability. Stomata are gateways of transpiration and gas exchange, the swift adjustment of stomatal aperture has a strong influence on plant drought resistance. Despite intensive investigations of stomatal closure during drought stress in past decades, little is known about how sequential signals are integrated during complete processes. Here, we discovered that the...     

Learning from Evolution： Thellungiella Generates New Knowledge on Essential and Critical Components of Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants

Thellungiella salsuginea （halophila） is a close relative of Arabidopsis thaliana but, unlike A. thaliana, it grows well in extreme conditions of cold, salt, and drought as well as nitrogen limitation. Over the last decade, many laboratories have started to use Thellungiella to investigate the physiological, metabolic, and molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance in plants, and new knowledge has been gained in particular with respect to ion transport and gene expression. The advantage of Thellungiella over other extremophile model plants is that it can be directly compared with Arabidopsis, and therefore generate information on both essential and critical components of stress tolerance. Thellungiella research is supported by a growing body of technical resources comprising physiological and molecular protocols, ecotype collections, expressed sequence tags, cDNA-libraries, microarrays, and a pending genome sequence. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on Thellungiella and re-evaluates its usefulness as a model for research into plant stress tolerance.     

How Do Stomata Sense Reductions in Atmospheric Relative Humidity？

Dear Editor, It has been known since the work of Francis Darwin that, in response to a reduction in atmospheric relative humidity （rh）, stomatal aperture decreases. Screening for Arabidopsis mutants compromised in stomatal responses to reduced rh resulted in the identification of two genes, OST1 and ABA2, that are involved in stomatal response to low rh conditions. Interestingly both encode proteins previously known to be involved in ABA signaling （Xie et al., 2006, and references therein）. These findings strongly suggested that, at least in part, the stomatal response to low rh is mediated by ABA and the intracellular ABA signaling pathway. Our most recent data show that low rh-induced stomatal closure can pro- ceed by guard cell autonomous ABA synthesis （Bauer et al., 2013）,     

A DTX/MATE-Type Transporter Facilitates Abscisic Acid Efflux and Modulates ABA Sensitivity and Drought Tolerance in Arabidopsis

Abscisic acid （ABA） regulates numerous physiological and developmental processes in plants. Recent studies identify intracellular ABA receptors, implicating the transport of ABA across cell membranes as crucial for ABA sensing and response. Here, we report that a DTX/Multidrug and Toxic Compound Extrusion （MATE） family member in Arabidopsis thaliana, AtDTX50, functions as an ABA efflux transporter. When expressed heterologously in both an Escherichia coli strain and Xenopus oocyte cells, AtDTX50 was found to facilitate ABA efflux. Furthermore, dtx50 mutant mesophyll cells preloaded with ABA released less ABA compared with the wild-type （WT）. The AtDTX50 gene was expressed mainly in the vascular tissues and guard ceils and its expression was strongly up-regulated by exogenous ABA. The AtDTX50：：GFP fusion protein was localized predominantly to the plasma membrane. The dtx50 mutant plants were observed to be more sensitive to ABA in growth inhibition. In addition, compared with the WT, dtx50 mutant plants were more tolerant to drought with lower stomatal conductance, consistent with its function as an ABA efflux carrier in guard cells.     

The Arabidopsis thaliana RNA Editing FactorSLO2, which Affects the Mitochondrial ElectronTransport Chain,Participates in Multiple Stressand Hormone Resoonses

Recently, we reported that the novel mitochondrial RNA editing factor SLO2 is essential for mitochondrialelectron transport, and vital for plant growth through regulation of carbon and energy metabolism. Here, we show thatmutation in SL02 causes hypersensitivity to ABA and insensitivity to ethylene, suggesting a link with stress responses.Indeed, slo2 mutants are hypersensitive to salt and osmotic stress during the germination stage, while adult plantsshow increased drought and salt tolerance. Moreover, slo2 mutants are more susceptible to Botrytis cinerea infection.An increased expression of nuclear-encoded stress-responsive genes, as well as mitochondrial-encoded NAD genes ofcomplex I and genes of the alternative respiratory pathway, was observed in slo2 mutants, further enhanced by ABAtreatment. In addition, H202 accumulation and altered amino acid levels were recorded in slo2 mutants. We conclude thatSLO2 is required for plant sensitivity to ABA, ethylene, biotic, and abiotic stress. Although two stress-related RNA editingfactors were reported very recently, this study demonstrates a unique role of SLO2, and further supports a link betweenmitochondrial RNA editing events and stress response.     

Knights in Action： Lectin Receptor-Like Kinases in Plant Development and Stress Responses

The Receptor-Like Kinase （RLK） is a vast protein family with over 600 genes in Arabidopsis and 1100 in rice. The Lectin RLK （LecRLK） family is believed to play crucial roles in saccharide signaling as well as stress perception. All the LecRLKs possess three domains： an N-terminal lectin domain, an intermediate transmembrane domain, and a C-terminal kinase domain. On the basis of lectin domain variability, LecRLKs have been subgrouped into three subclasses： L-, G-, and C-type LecRLKs. While the previous studies on LecRLKs were dedicated to classification, comparative structural analysis and expression analysis by promoter-based studies, most of the recent studies on LecRLKs have laid special emphasis on the potential of this gene family in regulating biotic/abiotic stress and developmental pathways in plants, thus mak- ing the prospects of studying the LecRLK-mediated regulatory mechanism exceptionally promising. In this review, we have described in detail the LecRLK gene family with respect to a historical, evolutionary, and structural point of view. Furthermore, we have laid emphasis on the LecRLKs roles in development, stress conditions, and hormonal response. We have also discussed the exciting research prospects offered by the current knowledge on the LecRLK gene family. The multitude of the LecRLK gene family members and their functional diversity mark these genes as both interesting and worthy candidates for further analysis, especially in the field of crop improvement.     

Ubiquitination in Abscisic Acid-Related Pathway

Ubiquitination is emerging as a tight regulatory mechanism that is necessary for all aspects of development and survival of all eukaryotes. Recent genomic and genetic analysis in Arabidopsis suggests that ubiquitination may also play important roles in plant response to the phytohormone abscisic acid （ABA）. Many components of the ubiquitination pathway, such as ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2, ubiquitin ligase E3 and components of the proteasome, have been identified or predicted to be essential in ABA biosynthesis, catabolism and signaling. In addition, the ubiquitination-related pathway, sumoylation, is also involved in ABA signaling. We summarize in this report recent developments to elucidate their roles in the ABA-related pathway.