科研之友
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摘要
Previous studies have indicated that homeodomain-leucine zipper (HD-Zip) transcription factors play important roles during abiotic stress, but there is no information on the functions of HD-Zip genes in a new model plant Eutrema salsugineum for studying plant abiotic stress tolerance. Here, EsHdzip1 (GenBank No. XM_006390503) belonging to the Class IV subgroup of HD-Zip transcription factor family was isolated from E. salsugineum and characterized for its physiological roles under drought stress conditions. Transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing EsHdzip1 exhibited increased drought resistance with promoted root growth and reduction of water loss. Furthermore, these transgenic plants had lower ion leakage (IL), malondialdehyde (MDA), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, but higher content of osmotic solutes (proline and total soluble sugars) and activities of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) relative to wild-type (WT) plants when subjected to drought stress treatments. The content of abscisic acid (ABA) was also observed to be remarkably higher in the transgenic lines than WT plants under drought stress conditions. In addition, the expression levels of three important stress-related genes (NtP5CS, NtERD10C, and NtLEA5) involved in the osmotic adjustment and water maintenance were significantly higher than WT plants under drought stress conditions. Therefore, we have revealed important roles of the EsHdzip1 gene in response to drought stress, suggesting that this gene has a great potential for improving plant drought tolerance by engineering manipulation.
