AtHsfA2 modulates expression of stress responsive genes and enhances tolerance to heat and oxidative stress in Arabidopsis

In nature, plants are subject to changes of tempera-ture. Thus, like other organisms, plants have evolved strategies for preventing damage caused by rapid changes in temperature and for repairing what damage is unavoidable. Heat stress responses have been well documented in a wide range of organisms. In all spe-cies studied, the heat shock (HS) response is charac-terized by a rapid production and a transient accumu-lation of specific families of proteins known as heat shock proteins (Hsps) th…     

Heterologous expression of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">NPR1</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">AtNPR1</Emphasis>) enhances oxidative stress tolerance in transgenic tobacco plants

In Arabidopsis, NPR1 (non-expressor of pathogenesis related genes 1, AtNPR1) functions downstream of salicylic acid (SA) and modulates the SA mediated systemic acquired resistance. It is also involved in a cross talk with the jasmonate pathway that is essential for resistance against herbivores and necrotrophic pathogens. Overexpression of AtNPR1 in transgenic plants resulted in enhanced disease resistance. Recently, tobacco transgenic plants expressing AtNPR1 were shown to be tolerant to the early instars of Spodoptera litura (Meur et al., Physiol Plant 133:765–775, 2008). In this communication, we show that the heterologous expression of AtNPR1 in tobacco has also enhanced the oxidative stress tolerance. The transgenic plants exhibited enhanced tolerance to the treatment with methyl viologen. This tolerance was associated with the constitutive upregulation of PR1, PR2 (glucanase), PR5 (thaumatin like protein), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and Cu²⁺/Zn²⁺ superoxide dismutase (SOD). This is the first demonstration of the novel function of heterologous expression of AtNPR1 in oxidative stress tolerance in transgenic tobacco.     

Increased tolerance to salt stress in the phosphate-accumulating <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis> mutants <Emphasis Type="Italic">siz1</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">pho2</Emphasis>

High salinity is an environmental factor that inhibits plant growth and development, leading to large losses in crop yields. We report here that mutations in SIZ1 or PHO2, which cause more accumulation of phosphate compared with the wild type, enhance tolerance to salt stress. The siz1 and pho2 mutations reduce the uptake and accumulation of Na⁺. These mutations are also able to suppress the Na⁺ hypersensitivity of the sos3-1 mutant, and genetic analyses suggest that SIZ1 and SOS3 or PHO2 and SOS3 have an additive effect on the response to salt stress. Furthermore, the siz1 mutation cannot suppress the Li⁺ hypersensitivity of the sos3-1 mutant. These results indicate that the phosphate-accumulating mutants siz1 and pho2 reduce the uptake and accumulation of Na⁺, leading to enhanced salt tolerance, and that, genetically, SIZ1 and PHO2 are likely independent of SOS3-dependent salt signaling.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">ABI2</Emphasis>-dependent abscisic acid signalling controls HrpN-induced drought tolerance in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis>

HrpN, a protein produced by the plant pathogenic bacterium Erwinia amylovora, has been shown to stimulate plant growth and resistance to pathogens and insects. Here we report that HrpN activates abscisic acid (ABA) signalling to induce drought tolerance (DT) in Arabidopsis thaliana L. plants grown with water stress. Spraying wild-type plants with HrpN-promoted stomatal closure decreased leaf transpiration rate, increased moisture and proline levels in leaves, and alleviated extents of damage to cell membranes and plant drought symptoms caused by water deficiency. In plants treated with HrpN, ABA levels increased; expression of several ABA-signalling regulatory genes and the important effector gene rd29B was induced or enhanced. Induced expression of rd29B, promotion of stomatal closure, and reduction in drought severity were observed in the abi1-1 mutant, which has a defect in the phosphatase ABI1, after HrpN was applied. In contrast, HrpN failed to induce these responses in the abi2-1 mutant, which is impaired in the phosphatase ABI2. Inhibiting wild-type plants to synthesize ABA eliminated the role of HrpN in promoting stomatal closure and reducing drought severity. Moreover, resistance to Pseudomonas syringae developed in abi2-1 as in wild-type plants following treatment with HrpN. Thus, an ABI2-dependent ABA signalling pathway is responsible for the induction of DT but does not affect pathogen defence under the circumstances of this study.Hong-Ping Dong and Haiqin Yu contributed equally to this study and are regarded as joint first authors.     

Ectopic expression of cucumber (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis sativus</Emphasis> L.) <Emphasis Type="Italic">CsTIR</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">AFB</Emphasis> genes enhance salt tolerance in transgenic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis</Emphasis>

Auxin receptors TIR1/AFBs play an essential role in a series of signaling network cascades. These F-box proteins have also been identified to participate in different stress responses via the auxin signaling pathway in Arabidopsis. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is one of the most important crops worldwide, which is also a model plant for research. In the study herein, two cucumber homologous auxin receptor F-box genes CsTIR and CsAFB were cloned and studied for the first time. The deduced amino acid sequences showed a 78% identity between CsTIR and AtTIR1 and 76% between CsAFB and AtAFB2. All these proteins share similar characteristics of an F-box domain near the N-terminus, and several Leucine-rich repeat regions in the middle. Arabidopsis plants ectopically overexpressing CsTIR or CsAFB were obtained and verified. Shorter primary roots and more lateral roots were found in these transgenic lines with auxin signaling amplified. Results showed that expression of CsTIR/AFB genes in Arabidopsis could lead to higher seeds germination rates and plant survival rates than wild-type under salt stress. The enhanced salt tolerance in transgenic plants is probably caused by maintaining root growth and controlling water loss in seedlings, and by stabilizing life-sustaining substances as well as accumulating endogenous osmoregulation substances. We proposed that CsTIR/AFB-involved auxin signal regulation might trigger auxin mediated stress adaptation response and enhance the plant salt stress resistance by osmoregulation.