A TFIIIA-type zinc finger protein confers multiple abiotic stress tolerances in transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

The TFIIIA-type zinc finger transcription factors are involved in plant development and abiotic stress responses. Most TFIIIA-type zinc finger proteins are transcription repressors due to existence of an EAR-motif in their amino acid sequences. In this work, we found that ZFP182, a TFIIIA-type zinc finger protein, forms a homodimer in the nucleus and exhibits trans-activation activity in yeast cells. The deletion analysis indicated that a Leu-rich region at C-terminus is required for the trans-activation. Overexpression of ZFP182 significantly enhanced multiple abiotic stress tolerances, including salt, cold and drought tolerances in transgenic rice. Overexpression of ZFP182 promotes accumulation of compatible osmolytes, such as free proline and soluble sugars, in transgenic rice. ZFP182 activates the expression of OsP5CS encoding pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase and OsLEA3 under stress conditions, while OsDREB1A and OsDREB1B were regulated by ZFP182 under both normal and stress conditions. Interestingly, site-directed mutagenesis assay showed that DRE-like elements in ZFP182 promoter are involved in dehydration-induced expression of ZFP182. The yeast two-hybrid assay revealed that ZFP182 interacted with several ribosomal proteins including ZIURP1, an ubiquitin fused to ribosomal protein L40. The in vivo and in vitro interactions of ZFP182 and ZIURP1 were further confirmed by bimolecular fluorescence complementation and His pull-down assays. Our studies provide new clues in the understanding of the mechanisms for TFIIIA-type zinc finger transcription factor mediated stress tolerance and a candidate gene for improving stress tolerance in crops.

OsMSR15 encoding a rice C2H2-type zinc finger protein confers enhanced drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis

“…Although the roles of some C2H2-type zinc finger proteins have been identified to be related to stress and developmental processes, the functions of C2H2-type ZFPs from rice involved in stress response are largely unknown (Sun et al 2010;Huang et al 2012). In this study, as a novel C2H2-type zinc finger protein gene, OsMSR15 was cloned from rice and then functionally characterized.…”

Structure, Function and Networks of Transcription Factors Involved in Abiotic Stress Responses

“…Therefore, ZFP252 represents another candidate for engineering crop plants with enhanced tolerance to salt and drought stresses [107]. In a recent addition to this research field, the EAR-motif containing C2H2 ZF ZFP182 from rice was shown to mediate salt, cold, and drought tolerance [108]. …”

Association mapping of seed germination and seedling growth at three conditions in indica rice (Oryza sativa L.)

“…The seeds were then placed in Petri dishes (diameter is 9 cm) with two sheets of filter paper, and added 20 mL solution. Seeds were germinated under normal (sterile distilled water), drought (15 % PEG-6000) and salt (150 mM NaCl) conditions according to Fu et al (2012) and Huang et al (2012) methods respectively at 30 ± 1°C for 10 days with a 12 h light/12 h dark photoperiod in growth chamber. The solution was replaced every 2 days.…”

“…The number of normal seedling was counted to calculate the seedling survival percentage (SSP) at the three-leaf stage under normal condition. After that, the weak and dead plants were removed, and *20 healthy seedlings per accession were retained for stress treatments according to Huang et al (2012) methods with minor modifications. Seedlings were treated without irrigation for 14 days for drought stress treatment, and seedlings were grown in 150 mM NaCl solution for 14 days and the solution was refreshed every 2 days for salt stress treatment.…”