Overexpression of Grain Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) AhERF or AhDOF Transcription Factors in Arabidopsis thaliana Increases Water Deficit- and Salt-Stress Tolerance, Respectively, via Contrasting Stress-Amelioration Mechanisms

PLoS One. 2016 Oct 17;11(10):e0164280. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164280. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Two grain amaranth transcription factor (TF) genes were overexpressed in Arabidopsis plants. The first, coding for a group VII ethylene response factor TF (i.e., AhERF-VII) conferred tolerance to water-deficit stress (WS) in transgenic Arabidopsis without affecting vegetative or reproductive growth. A significantly lower water-loss rate in detached leaves coupled to a reduced stomatal opening in leaves of plants subjected to WS was associated with this trait. WS tolerance was also associated with an increased antioxidant enzyme activity and the accumulation of putative stress-related secondary metabolites. However, microarray and GO data did not indicate an obvious correlation between WS tolerance, stomatal closure, and abscisic acid (ABA)-related signaling. This scenario suggested that stomatal closure during WS in these plants involved ABA-independent mechanisms, possibly involving reactive oxygen species (ROS). WS tolerance may have also involved other protective processes, such as those employed for methyl glyoxal detoxification. The second, coding for a class A and cluster I DNA binding with one finger TF (i.e., AhDof-AI) provided salt-stress (SS) tolerance with no evident fitness penalties. The lack of an obvious development-related phenotype contrasted with microarray and GO data showing an enrichment of categories and genes related to developmental processes, particularly flowering. SS tolerance also correlated with increased superoxide dismutase activity but not with augmented stomatal closure. Additionally, microarray and GO data indicated that, contrary to AhERF-VII, SS tolerance conferred by AhDof-AI in Arabidopsis involved ABA-dependent and ABA-independent stress amelioration mechanisms.

MeSH terms

  • Amaranthus / metabolism*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Antioxidants / metabolism
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / classification
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Droughts
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / drug effects
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Growth Regulators / pharmacology
  • Plant Proteins / classification
  • Plant Proteins / genetics
  • Plant Proteins / metabolism*
  • Plant Stomata / physiology
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / metabolism
  • Pyruvaldehyde / toxicity
  • Reactive Oxygen Species / metabolism
  • Salt Tolerance
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Sodium Chloride / pharmacology
  • Stress, Physiological / drug effects
  • Superoxide Dismutase / metabolism
  • Transcription Factors / classification
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism*

Substances

  • Antioxidants
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Plant Growth Regulators
  • Plant Proteins
  • Reactive Oxygen Species
  • Transcription Factors
  • ethylene-responsive element binding protein
  • Sodium Chloride
  • Pyruvaldehyde
  • Superoxide Dismutase

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.