Melatonin induces the transcripts of CBF/DREB1s and their involvement in both abiotic and biotic stresses in Arabidopsis

Abstract

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a naturally occurring small molecule that acts as an important secondary messenger in plant stress responses. However, the mechanism underlying the melatonin-mediated signaling pathway in plant stress responses has not been established. C-repeat-binding factors (CBFs)/Drought response element Binding 1 factors (DREB1s) encode transcription factors that play important roles in plant stress responses. This study has determined that endogenous melatonin and transcripts level of CBFs (AtCBF1, AtCBF2, and AtCBF3) in Arabidopsis leaves were significantly induced by salt, drought, and cold stresses and by pathogen Pseudomonas syringe pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000 infection. Moreover, both exogenous melatonin treatment and overexpression of CBFs conferred enhanced resistance to both abiotic and biotic stresses in Arabidopsis. Notably, AtCBFs and exogenous melatonin treatment positively regulated the mRNA expression of several stress-responsive genes (COR15A, RD22, and KIN1) and accumulation of soluble sugars content such as sucrose in Arabidopsis under control and stress conditions. Additionally, exogenous sucrose also conferred improved resistance to both abiotic and biotic stresses in Arabidopsis. Taken together, this study indicates that AtCBFs confer enhanced resistance to both abiotic and biotic stresses, and AtCBF-mediated signaling pathway and sugar accumulation may be involved in melatonin-mediated stress response in Arabidopsis, at least partially.

A new balancing act: The many roles of melatonin and serotonin in plant growth and development

“…This adds a further level of complexity to the signaling networks influenced by MEL 59,127,156 . Furthermore specific research has started to uncover the mechanisms behind this regulation with a Crepeat-binding factors (CBFs)/drought response element binding 1 factors (DREB1s) as well as WRKY, MYB and bHLH transcription factors being implicated in mediation of these responses 48,132,157 . Though large-scale transcriptomics analysis has not been …”

Effects of Melatonin on Anti-oxidative Systems and Photosystem II in Cold-Stressed Rice Seedlings

“…Melatonin in plants may be involved in multiple developmental processes, including root architecture (Zhang et al, 2014), circadian rhythms regulation, regulation of flower development, photosynthesis promotion, regulation of fruit ripening, chlorophyll preservation (Arnao and Hernández-Ruiz, 2009; Tan et al, 2012), leaf senescence (Byeon et al, 2012; Wang et al, 2013a) and alleviation of oxidative damages through effectively scavenging ROS and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) (Arnao and Hernández-Ruiz, 2015). In addition, melatonin has been reported to protect plants against multiple abiotic stresses, such as salt, cold, drought and pathogen infections (Yin et al, 2013; Bajwa et al, 2014; Wang et al, 2014; Shi et al, 2015a,b,c). Recently, Shi et al (2015a) found that cold stress activated the synthesis of melatonin in bermudagrass, and exogenous melatonin improved its cold stress tolerance by scavenging ROS directly and improving the antioxidative enzymes activities.…”

A Simple, Rapid Method for Determination of Melatonin in Plant Tissues by UPLC Coupled with High Resolution Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry

“…Moreover, it was reported to be involved in almost all of the plant growth and development stages, from seeds germination to the senescence (Hardeland et al, 2007; Paredes et al, 2009; Arnao and Hernández-Ruiz, 2015; Reiter et al, 2015; Hardeland, 2016). Additionally, many studies have shown that MLT could effectively protect plant tissues from the damage caused by a variety of abiotic and biotic stresses, such as drought stress (Shi et al, 2015b,c), salt stress (Shi et al, 2015b,c), cold stress (Bajwa et al, 2014; Shi et al, 2015b,c), heat stress (Byeon and Back, 2014; Shi et al, 2015d), and pathogen infection (Yin et al, 2013; Shi et al, 2015a). …”