Overexpression of SbAP37 in rice alleviates concurrent imposition of combination stresses and modulates different sets of leaf protein profiles

Abstract

SbAP37 transcription factor contributes to a combination of abiotic stresses when applied simultaneously in rice. It modulates a plethora of proteins that might regulate the downstream pathways to impart salt stress tolerance. APETALA type of transcription factor was isolated from Sorghum bicolor (SbAP37), overexpressed in rice using a salt inducible abscisic acid 2 (ABA2) promoter through Agrobacterium tumefaciens following in planta method. Transgenics were confirmed by PCR amplification of SbAP37, hygromycin phosphotransferase (hptII) marker and ABA2 promoter and DNA blot analysis. Plants were exposed to 150 mM NaCl coupled with high day/night 36 ± 2/25 ± 2 °C temperatures and also drought stress by withholding water for 1-week separately at the booting stage. SbAP37 expression was 2.8- to 4.7-folds higher in transgenic leaf under salt, but 1.8- to 3.3-folds higher in roots under drought stress. Native gene expression analysis showed that it is expressed more in stem than in roots and leaves under 150 mM NaCl and 6% PEG stress. In the present study, proteomic analysis of transgenics exposed to 150 mM NaCl coupled with elevated temperatures was taken up using quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS). The leaf proteome revealed 11 down regulated, 26 upregulated, 101 common (shared), 193 newly synthesized proteins in transgenics besides 368 proteins in untransformed plants. Some of these protein sets appeared different and unique to combined stresses. Our results suggest that the SbAP37 has the potential to improve combined stress tolerance without causing undesirable phenotypic characters when used under the influence of ABA2 promoter.

Genetic, Epigenetic, Genomic and Microbial Approaches to Enhance Salt Tolerance of Plants: A Comprehensive Review

“…By and large, these genes are involved in various stress responses, and their underlying mechanisms are fairly well understood. Several overexpression studies in multiple plants species such as Arabidopsis, rice, and soybean demonstrated the involvement of other TFs such as OsAP21 , SbAP37 , GmDREB6 , and OsMYB6 in salt stress tolerance, and in some cases, it was accompanied by accumulation of proline [ 180 , 181 , 182 , 183 ].…”

Systems biology of seeds: deciphering the molecular mechanisms of seed storage, dormancy and onset of germination

“…Results of comparative proteomics studies for instance showed that the accumulation of vicilin during the pre-treatment of two defense elicitors β-amino butyric acid and γ-amino butyric acid in citrus seed germination under salt stress conditions reversed salt stress impediment and improved germination vigor (Ziogas et al 2017). Two additional studies unraveled the salt tolerance mechanisms through epigenetics (Pandey et al 2016) and proteomics (Parveda et al 2017).…”