Over-expression of the Arabidopsis DRE/CRT-binding transcription factor DREB2C enhances thermotolerance

doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.08.007

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications

Volume 362, Issue 2, 19 October 2007, Pages 431-436

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.08.007 Get rights and content

Abstract

The dehydration responsive element binding protein 2 (DREB2) subgroup belongs to the plant-specific APETALA2/ethylene-responsive element binding factor (AP2/ERF) family of transcription factors. We have characterized cDNA encoding Arabidopsis thaliana DREB2C, which is induced by mild heat stress. Both an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and a yeast one-hybrid assay revealed that DREB2C^145–528 was able to form a complex with the dehydration responsive element/C-repeat (DRE/CRT; A/GCCGAC) motif. A trans-activating ability test in yeast demonstrated that DREB2C could effectively function as a trans-activator. Constitutive expression of DREB2C under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter led to enhanced thermotolerance in transgenic lines of Arabidopsis. Microarray and RT-PCR analyses of transgenic plants revealed that DREB2C regulates expression of several heat stress-inducible genes that contain DRE/CRT elements in their promoters. From these data, we deduced that DREB2C is a regulator of heat stress tolerance in Arabidopsis.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Plants, growth conditions and thermotolerance assays. Arabidopsis thaliana L. Heynh. ecotype Columbia (Col-0) plants were grown in soil (60% relative humidity) or in vitro on MS medium [25] containing 3% sucrose and 0.25% phyta-gel (pH 5.8), under 16 h of 100 μE s⁻¹ m⁻² light and 8 h dark, at 22 °C. To induce synchronous germination, seeds were vernalized at 4 °C for 3 days in the dark and then transferred to a growth chamber. For thermotolerance assays, 10-day-old plants grown in plates were placed in

Heat responsive DREB2 genes

In an earlier study, we performed microarray analyses to obtain further insight into the thermotolerance-related molecular responses of Arabidopsis[19]. These analyses indicated that the DREB2 subfamily genes were up-regulated at each of the time points investigated. Here, we used RT-PCR to compare the expression patterns of Arabidopsis DREB2A, B, and C, following heat stress induction. We observed that, as previously reported [23], DREB2A is induced transiently within 1 h of heat stress

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant (KRF-2006–013–F00020) and the Environmental Biotechnology National Core Research Centre Program (R15-2003–012–01001–0). C.J. Lim and J.E. Hwang were supported by a BK21 fellowship from the ME&HRD, Republic of Korea.

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Over-expression of the Arabidopsis DRE/CRT-binding transcription factor DREB2C enhances thermotolerance

Abstract

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Heat responsive DREB2 genes

Acknowledgments

Dev. Biol.

Exp. Cell Res.

J. Plant Physiol.

Physiol. Mol. Plant Pathol.

Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun.

J. Biol. Chem.

Plant Sci.

The influence of temperature extremes on gene expression, genomic structure, and the evolution of induced tolerance in plants

Programmed cell death in cultures

Plant Mol. Biol.

Identification of genetic diversity and mutations in higher plant acquired thermotolerance

Physiol. Plant.

Formation of cytoplasmic heat shock granules in tomato cell cultures and leaves

Mol. Cell. Biol.

The roles of heat shock protein in plants

Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol.

Regulation of membrane fatty acid composition by temperature in mutants of Arabidopsis with alterations in membrane lipid composition

BMC Plant Biol.

Crop Responses to the Environment

Temperature response of mesophyll conductance. Implications for the determination of Rubisco enzyme kinetics and for limitations to photosynthesis in vivo

Plant Physiol.

Molecular responses of plants to an increased incidence of heat shock

Plant Cell Environ.

Identification of chloroplast associated heat shock proteins in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia protoplasts

Curr. Genet.

Evidence for the localization of the nuclear-coded 22-kDa heat shock protein in a subfraction of thylakoid membranes

Eur. J. Biochem.