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Evidence for a role of Ethylene-Insensitive 2 gene in the regulation of the oxidative stress response in Arabidopsis

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Abstract

The Arabidopsis Ethylene-Insensitive 2 (EIN2) gene has been shown to be involved in mediating the oxidative stress response; however, little is known about the underlying mechanisms involved. In this study, we found that the ethylene-insensitive mutant ein2-1 showed enhanced tolerance to oxidative stresses caused by both paraquat (PQ) and hydrogen peroxide as well as alleviated oxidative damage. Moreover, higher transcript levels of a choroplast Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase gene CSD2 and a catalase gene CAT3 and, consequently, higher activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), were detected in ein2-1 plants than in wild-type plants in the absence or presence of PQ. These results suggest that the ein2-1 mutation results in constitutive activation of CSD2 and CAT3 genes and increases in the activities of SOD and CAT and, consequently, enhanced oxidative stress tolerance.

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Abbreviations

APX:

ascorbate peroxidase

CAT:

catalase

FW:

fresh weight

H2O2 :

hydrogen peroxide

MDA:

malondialdehyde

MS:

Murashige and Skoog

PQ:

paraquat

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

RT-PCR:

reverse transcription-PCR

SOD:

superoxide dismutase

WT:

wild-type Arabidopsis ecotype Columbia Col-0

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, 230009, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China

    Shuqing Cao & Shaotong Jiang

  2. College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Rongxian Zhang

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  1. Shuqing Cao
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  2. Shaotong Jiang
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  3. Rongxian Zhang
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Correspondence to Shuqing Cao.

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Cao, S., Jiang, S. & Zhang, R. Evidence for a role of Ethylene-Insensitive 2 gene in the regulation of the oxidative stress response in Arabidopsis . Acta Physiol Plant 28, 417–425 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02706624

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02706624

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