The salt- and drought-inducible poplar GRAS protein SCL7 confers salt and drought tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

The plant-specific GRAS/SCL transcription factors play diverse roles in plant development and stress responses. In this study, a poplar SCL gene, PeSCL7, was functionally characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana, especially with regard to its role in abiotic stress resistance. Expression analysis in poplar revealed that PeSCL7 was induced by drought and high salt stresses, but was repressed by gibberellic acid (GA) treatment in leaves. Transient expression of GFP-PeSCL7 in onion epidermal cells revealed that the PeSCL7 protein was localized in the nucleus. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing PeSCL7 showed enhanced tolerance to drought and salt treatments. The activity of two stress-responsive enzymes was increased in transgenic seedlings. Taken together, these results suggest that PeSCL7 encodes a member of the stress-responsive GRAS/SCL transcription factors that is potentially useful for engineering drought- and salt-tolerant trees.

Molecular mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in the resurrection glacial relic Haberlea rhodopensis

“…Some of them could act as master switches of growth, development, and stress-related genetic programs. For example, members of the GRAS family of transcription factors regulate many developmental processes and stress responses in A. thaliana, including salt and drought tolerance [50,51]. MADSbox transcription factors are better known for their involvement in developmental processes and floral organ identity formation but in Haberlea the drought-induced MADS-box transcription factor may be unique to this species or have functions distinct from those of their homologues in other species.…”

Crystal Structure of the GRAS Domain of SCARECROW-LIKE7 inOryza sativa

“…In Arabidopsis, SCL4 and SCL7 have similar expression levels under normal growth conditions; however, under stress conditions, SCL7 is upregulated while SCL4 is downregulated, indicating that SCL4/7 members could function as transcription factors in response to environmental stresses (Kilian et al, 2007). Populus euphratica SCL7, an ortholog of At-SCL7, is localized in the nucleus, and overexpression of Pe-SCL7 in transgenic Arabidopsis improved its salt and drought tolerance (Ma et al, 2010). A recent study demonstrated that Helianthus annuus GRAS, a GRAS-like protein in the same major clade with SCL4/7, could alter the gibberellin content and axillary meristem outgrowth, indicating SCL4/7 members also play a role in axillary meristem development (Fambrini et al, 2015).…”

Molecular Technologies in Serbian Lowland Forestry under Climate Changes - Possibilities and Perspectives

“…Transgenic Arabidopsis plants over-expressing PeSCL7 showed enhanced tolerance to drought and salt treatments. These results suggest that PeSCL7 encodes a member of the stress-responsive GRAS/SCL transcription factors that is potentially useful for engineering of drought-and salt-tolerant trees [26].…”