The State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Center of Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 286 Huaizhong Road, Shijiazhuang, 050021, Hebei, China.
Plant Cell Rep. 2015 Mar;34(3):395-410. doi: 10.1007/s00299-014-1717-1. Epub 2014 Dec 2.
TaWD40D that encodes a member of WD40 family proteins is a novel gene involved in the wheat response to abiotic stress. TaWD40D functions as a positive regulator of plant responses to salt stress and osmotic stress in plant. Abiotic stresses can severely affect plant growth and crop productivity. WD40 repeat-containing proteins play a key role in protein-protein or protein-DNA interactions by acting as scaffolding molecules and promoting protein activity. In this study, a stress-inducible gene, TaWD40D, was identified from Chinese spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). TaWD40D encodes a protein containing seven WD40 domains. Subcellular localization in Nicotiana benthamiana mesophyll cells and Arabidopsis root cells showed the presence of TaWD40D in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Heterologous overexpression of TaWD40D in Arabidopsis greatly increased plant tolerance to abscisic acid (ABA), salt stress, and osmotic stress during seed germination and seedling development. The expression patterns of two genes from the SOS pathway (SOS2 and SOS3) and three ABA genes (ABI2, RAB18 and DREB2A) functioning in ABA-dependent and ABA-independent pathways were altered in the transgenic lines overexpressing TaWD40D under the treatments. Notably, the basal level of the ABI2 expression was substantially increased in the TaWD40D overexpression lines. The down-regulation of TaWD40D in wheat by virus-induced gene silencing resulted in a decreased relative water content and less vigorous growth compared to non-silenced lines. Our results suggest that TaWD40D functions as a positive regulator of plant responses to salt stress and osmotic stress that could be utilized for the genetic improvement of stress tolerance in crop plants.
TaWD40D 编码 WD40 家族蛋白的一个新成员，是参与小麦非生物胁迫反应的一个新基因。TaWD40D 作为植物对盐胁迫和渗透胁迫反应的正调控因子在植物中起作用。非生物胁迫会严重影响植物的生长和作物的生产力。WD40 重复蛋白通过作为支架分子和促进蛋白质活性，在蛋白质-蛋白质或蛋白质-DNA 相互作用中起关键作用。本研究从中国春小麦（Triticum aestivum L.）中鉴定出一个应激诱导基因 TaWD40D。TaWD40D 编码一种含有七个 WD40 结构域的蛋白质。在烟草原生质体和拟南芥根细胞中的亚细胞定位表明 TaWD40D 存在于细胞质和细胞核中。在拟南芥中异源过表达 TaWD40D 大大提高了植物对脱落酸（ABA）、盐胁迫和渗透胁迫的耐受性，在种子萌发和幼苗发育过程中。在过表达 TaWD40D 的转基因系中，两条 SOS 途径（SOS2 和 SOS3）的基因和三条 ABA 基因（ABI2、RAB18 和 DREB2A）的表达模式发生了改变，这些基因在 ABA 依赖和非依赖途径中发挥作用。值得注意的是，在 TaWD40D 过表达系中，ABI2 的基础表达水平显著增加。通过病毒诱导的基因沉默下调小麦中的 TaWD40D 与非沉默系相比，相对水含量降低，生长活力降低。我们的研究结果表明，TaWD40D 作为植物对盐胁迫和渗透胁迫反应的正调控因子，可用于提高作物的耐胁迫性。
