The OsMYB30 Transcription Factor Suppresses Cold Tolerance by Interacting with a JAZ Protein and Suppressing β-Amylase Expression

Cold stress is one of the most important abiotic stresses in rice. C2H2zinc finger proteins play important roles in response to abiotic stresses in plants. In the present study, we isolated and functionally characterized a new C2H2zinc finger protein transcription factorOsCTZFP8in rice.OsCTZFP8encodes a C2H2zinc finger protein, which contains a typical zinc finger motif, as well as a potential nuclear localization signal (NLS) and a leucine-rich region (L-box). Expression ofOsCTZFP8was differentially induced by several abiotic stresses and was strongly induced by cold stress. Subcellular localization assay and yeast one-hybrid analysis revealed that OsCTZFP8 was a nuclear protein and has transactivation activity. To characterize the function ofOsCTZFP8in rice, the full-length cDNA ofOsCTZFP8was isolated and transgenic rice with overexpression ofOsCTZFP8driven by the maize ubiquitin promoter was generated usingAgrobacterium-mediated transformation. Among 46 independent transgenic lines, 6 single-copy homozygous overexpressing lines were selected by Southern blot analysis and Basta resistance segregation assay in both T1and T2generations. Transgenic rice overexpressingOsCTZFP8exhibited cold tolerant phenotypes with significantly higher pollen fertilities and seed setting rates than nontransgenic control plants. In addition, yield per plant ofOsCTZFP8-expressing lines was significantly (p<0.01) higher than that of nontransgenic control plants under cold treatments. These results demonstrate thatOsCTZFP8was a C2H2zinc finger transcription factor that plays an important role in cold tolerance in rice.

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Evolution Analyses of CAMTA Transcription Factor in Plants and Its Enhancing Effect on Cold-tolerance

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.758187 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Peixuan Xiao ◽

Jia-Wu Feng ◽

Xi-Tong Zhu ◽

Junxiang Gao

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factor ◽

Cold Tolerance ◽

Regulatory Networks ◽

Target Genes ◽

Higher Plants ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Evolutionary Process ◽

Functional Differentiation ◽

Transcription Activator ◽

Structure Variation

The calmodulin binding transcription activator (CAMTA) is a transcription factor that is widely present in eukaryotes with conserved structure. It contributes to the response to biotic and abiotic stresses and promotes the growth and development of plants. Although previous studies have investigated the number and function of CAMTAs in some species, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary process, phylogenetic relationship, expression patterns, and functions of CAMTAs in plants. Here we identified 465 CMATA genes from 112 plants and systematically studied the origin of CAMTA family, gene expansion, functional differentiation, gene structure, and conservative motif distribution. Based on these analyses, we presented the evidence that CAMTA family was originated from chlorophyta, and we speculated that CAMTA might experience obvious structure variation during its early evolution, and that the number of CAMTA genes might gradually increase in higher plants. To reveal potential functions of CAMTA genes, we analyzed the expression patterns of 12 representative species and found significant species specificity, tissue specificity, and developmental stage specificity of CAMTAs. The results also indicated that the CAMTA genes might promote the maturation and senescence. The expression levels and regulatory networks of CAMTAs revealed that CAMTAs could enhance cold tolerance of rice by regulating carbohydrate metabolism-related genes to accumulate carbohydrates or by modulating target genes together with other transcription factors. Our study provides an insight into the molecular evolution of CAMTA family and lays a foundation for further study of related biological functions.

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