Meta-analysis reveals key features of the improved drought tolerance of plants overexpressing NAC transcription factors

Drought affects plant growth and development, causing severe yield losses, especially in cereal crops. The identification of genes involved in drought tolerance is crucial for the development of drought-tolerant crops. The aim of this study was to identify genes that are conserved key players for conferring drought tolerance in cereals. By comparing the transcriptomic changes between tolerant and susceptible genotypes in four Gramineae species, we identified 69 conserved drought tolerant-related (CDT) genes that are potentially involved in the drought tolerance of all of the analysed species. The CDT genes are principally involved in stress response, photosynthesis, chlorophyll biogenesis, secondary metabolism, jasmonic acid signalling, and cellular transport. Twenty CDT genes are not yet characterized and can be novel candidates for drought tolerance. The k-means clustering analysis of expression data highlighted the prominent roles of photosynthesis and leaf senescence-related mechanisms in differentiating the drought response between tolerant and sensitive genotypes. In addition, we identified specific transcription factors that could regulate the expression of photosynthesis and leaf senescence-related genes. Our analysis suggests that the balance between the induction of leaf senescence and maintenance of photosynthesis during drought plays a major role in tolerance. Fine-tuning of CDT gene expression modulation by specific transcription factors can be the key to improving drought tolerance in cereals.

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OsNAC45 is Involved in ABA Response and Salt Tolerance in Rice

Rice ◽

10.1186/s12284-020-00440-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiang Zhang ◽

Yan Long ◽

Jingjing Huang ◽

Jixing Xia

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factors ◽

Salt Stress ◽

Salt Tolerance ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Plant Stress ◽

Root Cells ◽

Nac Transcription Factors ◽

Rice Plants ◽

Plant Stress Responses

Abstract Background Salt stress threatens crop yields all over the world. Many NAC transcription factors have been reported to be involved in different abiotic stress responses, but it remains unclear how loss of these transcription factors alters the transcriptomes of plants. Previous reports have demonstrated that overexpression of OsNAC45 enhances salt and drought tolerance in rice, and that OsNAC45 may regulate the expression of two specific genes, OsPM1 and OsLEA3–1. Results Here, we found that ABA repressed, and NaCl promoted, the expression of OsNAC45 in roots. Immunostaining showed that OsNAC45 was localized in all root cells and was mainly expressed in the stele. Loss of OsNAC45 decreased the sensitivity of rice plants to ABA and over-expressing this gene had the opposite effect, which demonstrated that OsNAC45 played an important role during ABA signal responses. Knockout of OsNAC45 also resulted in more ROS accumulation in roots and increased sensitivity of rice to salt stress. Transcriptome sequencing assay found that thousands of genes were differently expressed in OsNAC45-knockout plants. Most of the down-regulated genes participated in plant stress responses. Quantitative real time RT-PCR suggested that seven genes may be regulated by OsNAC45 including OsCYP89G1, OsDREB1F, OsEREBP2, OsERF104, OsPM1, OsSAMDC2, and OsSIK1. Conclusions These results indicate that OsNAC45 plays vital roles in ABA signal responses and salt tolerance in rice. Further characterization of this gene may help us understand ABA signal pathway and breed rice plants that are more tolerant to salt stress.

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Genome-wide analyses of direct target genes of four rice NAC-domain transcription factors involved in drought tolerance

BMC Genomics ◽

10.1186/s12864-017-4367-1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Pil Joong Chung ◽

Harin Jung ◽

Yang Do Choi ◽

Ju-Kon Kim

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factors ◽

Drought Tolerance ◽

Target Genes ◽

Nac Domain ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Direct Target

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Roles of potential plant hormones and transcription factors in controlling leaf senescence and drought tolerance

PROTOPLASMA ◽

10.1007/s00709-018-1310-5 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 256 (2) ◽

pp. 313-329 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Sumira Jan ◽

Nazia Abbas ◽

Muhammad Ashraf ◽

Parvaiz Ahmad

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factors ◽

Drought Tolerance ◽

Leaf Senescence ◽

Plant Hormones

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Contribution of NAC Transcription Factors to Plant Adaptation to Land

Science ◽

10.1126/science.1248417 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 343 (6178) ◽

pp. 1505-1508 ◽

Cited By ~ 119

Author(s):

B. Xu ◽

M. Ohtani ◽

M. Yamaguchi ◽

K. Toyooka ◽

M. Wakazaki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factors ◽

Plant Adaptation ◽

Nac Transcription Factors

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Differential Expression of Members of SOX Family of Transcription Factors in Failing Human Hearts

10.21203/rs.3.rs-52488/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Chia-Feng Liu ◽

Ying Ng ◽

Varun Thachil ◽

Michael Morley ◽

Christine S Moravec ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factors ◽

Differential Expression ◽

Cardiac Fibrosis ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

High Mobility ◽

Human Myocardium ◽

Cardiac Tissues ◽

Protein Levels ◽

Sox Genes ◽

Rna Levels

Abstract Background: The Sry-related high-mobility-group box (SOX) gene family, with 20 known transcription factors in humans, plays essential roles during development and in many disease processes. Several SOX proteins, e.g., SOX4, SOX11, and SOX9, are required for normal heart morphogenesis. SOX9 was shown to contribute to cardiac fibrosis in animal models. However, differential expression of other SOX transcription factors and their functional roles in the failing human myocardium have not been explored.Methods and Findings: All 20 SOX genes from RNA-seq data were extracted, and their RNA levels were compared to the NF, DCM, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) groups. The protein levels of the differential expressed SOX genes were confirmed by Western blot. Four SOX genes whose RNA levels were significantly upregulated in DCM or HCM compared to NF. However, only SOX4 and SOX8 proteins were markedly increased in the heart failure groups. Gene co-expression network analysis identified genes associated and respond similarly to perturbations with SOX4 in cardiac tissues. Using a meta-analysis combining epigenetics and genome-wide association data, we reported several genomic variants associated with HF phenotype linked to SOX4 or SOX8.Conclusions: Elevation of SOX8 and SOX4 are observed in the failing human myocardium. The molecular mechanism associated with them in HF warrants further investigation.

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Transcriptional Regulation of Hydrogen Peroxide and Calcium for Signaling Transduction and Stress-defensive Genes Contributing to Improved Drought Tolerance in Creeping Bentgrass

Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science ◽

10.21273/jashs04901-19 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 145 (4) ◽

pp. 236-246

Author(s):

Zhou Li ◽

Yan Peng ◽

Bingru Huang

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factors ◽

Drought Stress ◽

Drought Tolerance ◽

Creeping Bentgrass ◽

Grass Species ◽

Regulation Of Transcription ◽

Signaling Transduction ◽

Genes Expression ◽

Protective Genes ◽

Ca Signaling

Small molecules, including H2O2 and Ca, mediate stress signaling and drought tolerance in plants. The objective of this study was to determine whether improvement in drought tolerance by H2O2 and Ca were associated with the regulation of transcription factors and stress-protective genes in perennial grass species. Plants of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) were sprayed with water (control), H2O2 (9 mm), or CaCl2 (10 mm) and exposed to drought stress for 20 days in controlled-environment growth chambers. Foliar application of H2O2 or Ca led to significant improvement in drought tolerance of creeping bentgrass, as demonstrated by greater turf quality, leaf relative water content, chlorophyll content, photochemical efficiency, and cell membrane stability, as compared with the untreated control. The application of H2O2 and Ca resulted in significant up-regulation of genes in Ca signaling transduction pathways [Ca-dependent kinase 26 (CDPK26), mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1), and 14-3-3] and transcript factors (WRKY75 and MYB13). For genes encoding antioxidant enzymes, H2O2 mainly enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), and dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) expression, while Ca primarily improved transcript levels of SOD, monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), and GR. In addition, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), metallothionein 1 (MT1), and glutamine synthetase 2 (GS2) were also markedly up-regulated by H2O2 and Ca under drought stress. However, the transcript level of lipoxygenase 3 (LOX3) was significantly down-regulated by H2O2 and Ca under well-watered and drought conditions. These results imply that H2O2 and Ca commonly or differentially regulate genes expression in association with drought tolerance through activating Ca signaling pathway and regulating transcription factors and stress-protective genes expression, leading to the alleviation of lipid peroxidation, maintenance of correct protein folding and translocation, and enhancement of nitrogen metabolism under a prolonged period of drought stress in creeping bentgrass.

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