Jiangsu Key Laboratories of Crop Genetics and Physiology and Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education, Yangzhou University, 88 South University Ave, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China.
Lixiahe Region Agricultural Scientific Research Institute of Jiangsu, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China.
Plant Mol Biol. 2018 Jul;97(4-5):311-323. doi: 10.1007/s11103-018-0739-4. Epub 2018 Jun 5.
ZmPIF3 plays an important role in ABA-mediated regulation of stomatal closure in the control of water loss, and can improve both drought tolerance and did not affect the grain yield in the transgenic rice. Phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs) are a subfamily of basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors and play important roles in regulating plant growth and development. In our previous study, overexpression of a maize PIFs family gene, ZmPIF3, improved drought tolerance in transgenic rice. In this study, measurement of water loss rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, guard cell aperture, density and length of ZmPIF3 transgenic plants showed that ZmPIF3 can enhance water-saving and drought-resistance by decreasing stomatal aperture and reducing transpiration in both transgenic rice and transgenic Arabidopsis. Scrutiny of sensitivity to ABA showed that ZmPIF3 transgenic rice was hypersensitive to ABA, while the endogenous ABA level was not significantly changed. These results indicate that ZmPIF3 plays a major role in the ABA signaling pathway. In addition, DGE results further suggest that ZmPIF3 participates in the ABA signaling pathway and regulates stomatal aperture in rice. Comparison analysis of the phenotype, physiology, and transcriptome of ZmPIF3 transgenic rice compared to control plants further suggests that ZmPIF3 is a positive regulator of ABA signaling and enhances water-saving and drought-resistance traits by reducing stomatal openings to control water loss. Moreover, investigation of the agronomic traits of ZmPIF3 transgenic rice from four cultivating seasons showed that ZmPIF3 expression increased the tiller and panicle number and did not affect the grain yield in the transgenic rice. These results demonstrate that ZmPIF3 is a promising candidate gene in the transgenic breeding of water-saving and drought-resistant rice plants and crop improvement.
ZmPIF3 在 ABA 介导的气孔关闭调控中发挥重要作用，控制水分损失，可以提高耐旱性，而不影响转基因水稻的籽粒产量。光敏色素相互作用因子（PIFs）是碱性螺旋-环-螺旋（bHLH）转录因子的一个亚家族，在调节植物生长和发育中发挥重要作用。在我们之前的研究中，过量表达玉米 PIFs 家族基因 ZmPIF3 提高了转基因水稻的耐旱性。在这项研究中，通过测量水分损失率、蒸腾速率、气孔导度、保卫细胞孔径、ZmPIF3 转基因植物的密度和长度，表明 ZmPIF3 可以通过降低气孔孔径和减少转基因水稻和转基因拟南芥的蒸腾来增强节水和抗旱性。对 ABA 敏感性的仔细研究表明，ZmPIF3 转基因水稻对 ABA 敏感，而内源 ABA 水平没有显著变化。这些结果表明 ZmPIF3 在 ABA 信号通路中起主要作用。此外，DGE 结果进一步表明 ZmPIF3 参与 ABA 信号通路并调节水稻气孔孔径。与对照植物相比，ZmPIF3 转基因水稻的表型、生理学和转录组的比较分析进一步表明，ZmPIF3 是 ABA 信号的正调节剂，通过减少气孔开度来控制水分损失，增强节水和抗旱特性。此外，对四个种植季节的 ZmPIF3 转基因水稻的农艺性状的研究表明，ZmPIF3 的表达增加了分蘖数和穗数，而不影响转基因水稻的籽粒产量。这些结果表明，ZmPIF3 是节水抗旱性水稻植物和作物改良转基因育种的有前途的候选基因。
