Role of AP2/EREBP transcription factors in gene regulation during abiotic stress.

Crop plants are exposed to many types of abiotic stress during their life cycle. Water deficit derived from drought, low temperature or high salt concentration in the soil, is one of the most common environmental stresses that affects growth and development of plants through alterations in metabolism and gene expression. Adaptation to these conditions may involve passive tolerance or active homeostatic mechanisms for maintaining water balance. Active responses occur at different levels in the plant and may represent a concomitant protection against other types of stress such as pathogen attack. Many morphological and physiological adaptations to water stress are under the control of the plant hormone abscisic acid and involve specific activation of target genes that in one way or another protect cells against water deficit or participate in the regulation of the drought response. Here, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of drought adaptation mediated by specific changes in gene expression and the role of AP2/EREBP nuclear factors in these processes.     

Overexpression of a Lotus corniculatus AP2/ERF transcription factor gene,LcERF080, enhances tolerance to salt stress in transgenic Arabidopsis

The APETALA2/ethylene-responsive element binding factors (AP2/ERF) play central roles in the stress response in plants. In this study, we identified and isolated a novel salt stress-related gene, LcERF080, that encodes an AP2/ERF protein in Lotus corniculatus cultivar Leo. LcERF080 was classified into the B-4 group of the ERF subfamily based on multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic characterization. Expression of LcERF080 was strongly induced by salt, abscisic acid, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, methyl jasmonate, and salicylic acid stresses. Subcellular localization assay confirmed that LcERF080 is a nuclear protein. LcERF080 overexpression in Arabidopsis resulted in pleiotropic phenotypes with a higher seed germination rate and transgenic plants with enhanced tolerance to salt stress. Further, under stress conditions, the transgenic lines exhibited elevated levels of soluble sugars and proline as well as relative moisture contents but a lower malondialdehyde content than in control plants. The expression levels of hyperosmotic salinity response genes COR15A, RD22, and P5CS1 were found to be elevated in the LcERF080-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants compared to the wild-type plants. These results reveal that LcERF080 is involved in the responses of plants to salt stress.     

AP2/EREBP 转录因子在植物发育和胁迫应答中的作用

AP2/EREBP (APETALA2/ethylene-res ponsive element binding proteins) 是一个起源古老的转录因子超家族, 它含有1个或2个由约60-70个氨基酸残基组成的非常保守的DNA结合域 (DNA-binding domain), 即AP2/ERF结构域。根据AP2/ERF结构域的数目, AP2/EREBP转录因子可以分为2个亚族: EREBP亚族(具有1个AP2/ERF结构域)和AP2亚族(具有2个AP2/ERF结构域)。AP2亚族转录因子有调控花、胚珠和种子发育的功能, 而EREBP亚族转录因子(包括DREB类和ERF类) 的主要功能是调节植物对激素(乙烯和ABA等)、病原和胁迫(低温、干旱及高盐)等的应答反应。本文讨论了AP2/EREBP转录因子在植物发育和胁迫应答中的研究进展。     

巴西橡胶树一个AP2／EREBP转录因子的克隆及表达分析

本文采用RACE技术从巴西橡胶树中鉴定出一个AP2／EREBP转录因子。该转录因子全长cDNANl225bp,最长开放阅读框699bp,预测编码蛋白包含232个氨基酸;序列比对分析发现,该转录因子具有一段保守的AP2／EREBP结构域,与拟南芥Soloist（At4g13040）具有较高的相似性,将该基因命名HbSoloist。半定量胙PcR分析结果表明,HbSoloist在巴西橡胶树的胶乳、叶片、树皮和花中均有表达。与健康橡胶树相比,死皮树胶乳HbSoloist表达量明显下降。研究发HbSoloist表达受乙烯利、茉莉酸和低温处理调控,表明HbSoloist基因可能在巴西橡胶树乙烯、茉莉酸和低温反应中发挥作用。     

AP2/EREBP转录因子在植物发育和胁迫应答中的作用

AP2／EREBP（APETALA2/ethylene-responsive element binding proteins）是一个起源古老的转录因子超家族,它含有1个或2个由约60—70个氨基酸残基组成的非常保守的DNA结合域（DNA-binding domain）,即AP2／ERF结构域。根据AP2／ERF结构域的数目,AP2／EREBP转录因子可以分为2个亚族：EREBP亚族（具有1个AP2／ERF结构域）和AP2亚族（具有2个AP2／ERF结构域）。AP2亚族转录因子有调控花、胚珠和种子发育的功能,而EREBP亚族转录因子（包括DREB类和ERF类）的主要功能是调节植物对激素（乙烯和ABA等）、病原和胁迫（低温、干旱及高盐）等的应答反应。本文讨论了AP2／EREBP转录因子在植物发育和胁迫应答中的研究进展。