Molecular cloning and functional characterization of a novel CBL-interacting protein kinase NtCIPK2 in the halophyte Nitraria tangutorum

Abstract

ABSTRACT. CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) mediate many plant responses to abiotic stress. However, their functions are poorly understood in halophytes. In this study, we isolated a CIPK gene, NtCIPK2, from the halophyte Nitraria tangutorum. By sequence alignment and the construction of a phylogenetic tree, we found that NtCIPK2 is similar to CIPK2 proteins from other plants, and contains conserved domains and motifs. The promoter of NtCIPK2 harbors many cis-acting elements that might be recognized and bound by transcription factors that are related to hormones and stress responses. NtCIPK2 was ubiquitously and robustly expressed in all tested organs, and was induced by salinity, drought, heat, and cold stress. The overexpression of NtCIPK2 in Escherichia coli caused better growth against high salinity, alkalinity, and osmotic conditions, dehydration, and extreme temperatures (i.e., heat and cold) compared to the control. 4717©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 13 (3): 4716-4728 (2014) Cloning and characterization of the NtCIPK2 gene Thus, NtCIPK2 is a candidate gene that might improve the stress tolerance of crops and herbs through genetic manipulation.

Overexpression of CBL interacting protein kinase 2 improves plant tolerance to salinity and mercury

“…Whether CIPK2 really possesses a significant role in the wild-type plant cell response to salt stress, however, remains unknown. Our findings showing that overexpression of AtCIPK2 and HsCIPK2 in Arabidopsis transgenic plants significantly enhances the tolerance of seed germination and plant growth to NaCl stress, together with the previous finding that expression of halophytic shrub NtCIPK2 in E. coli cells enhances host cell tolerance to salt toxicity (Zheng et al 2014), demonstrate that CIPK2 plays a significant role in plant salt tolerance. In addition, we also noticed that, based on seedling growth phenotype, the wild-type seedlings appear to be more sensitive to NaCl on 0.5× MS agar plates (1 % sucrose) in our study than on 1× MS agar plates (2 % sucrose) in the previous studies (Guo et al 2004, Li et al 2012.…”

“…Overexpression of Zea mays ZmCIPK16 or Hordeum brevisubulatum HbCIPK2 in Arabidopsis sos2 mutants improves their tolerance to salt and/or osmotic stresses (Zhao et al 2009, Li et al 2012. Furthermore, expression of halophytic shrub (Nitraria tangutorum) NtCIPK2 in Escherichia coli improves cell tolerance to high salinity, alkalinity, osmotic stress, dehydration, heat, and cold stresses (Zheng et al 2014).…”

CIPK11: a calcineurin B-like protein-interacting protein kinase from Nitraria tangutorum, confers tolerance to salt and drought in Arabidopsis

“…Previous studies have shown that Nitraria may adapt to abiotic stress conditions through increased antioxidant enzyme activities, proline accumulation, level of soluble carbohydrates and reduced the intracellular Na + / K + ratio [7,[10][11][12][13]. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the physiological adaptability of N. tangutorum to various stresses need further study [14][15][16].…”

Full-Length Cloning and Characterization of Abiotic Stress Responsive <i>CIPK31-Like</i> Gene from Finger Millet, a Drought-Tolerant Crop

“…In addition, the differentially induced expression of OsCIPK genes by different abiotic stresses was proposed to be responsible for improved stress tolerance in rice 10 . It was also reported that the overexpression of halophytic gene, NtCIPK2 in Escherichia coli resulted in better bacterial growth under high salinity and osmotic conditions, in addition to dehydration and extreme temperatures compared to control 11 . More recently, it was reported that the overexpression of GhCIPK6 significantly enhanced the tolerance to salt, drought and ABA stresses in transgenic Arabidopsis 21 .…”

“…increase the Ca 2+ concentration in cell cytoplasm, which acts as a major secondary messenger to transduce the extracellular stimuli 2 [6][7][8] . Although there are many reports on the role of CIPKs in imparting abiotic stress tolerance [9][10][11] , there could be vast diversity in the functions exhibited by different CIPKs. This could be attributed to the superior nucleotide/ polypeptide assembly existing in different CIPKs, making them functionally more efficient 12,13 .…”