Expression of Stipa purpurea SpCIPK26 in Arabidopsis thaliana Enhances Salt and Drought Tolerance and Regulates Abscisic Acid Signaling

Yanli Zhou; Xudong Sun; Yunqiang Yang; Xiong Li; Ying Cheng; Yongping Yang

doi:10.3390/ijms17060966

Expression of Stipa purpurea SpCIPK26 in Arabidopsis thaliana Enhances Salt and Drought Tolerance and Regulates Abscisic Acid Signaling

Int J Mol Sci. 2016 Jun 22;17(6):966. doi: 10.3390/ijms17060966.

Authors

Yanli Zhou^{1

2

3}, Xudong Sun^{4

5

6}, Yunqiang Yang^{7

8

9}, Xiong Li^{10

11

12}, Ying Cheng¹³, Yongping Yang^{14

15

16

17}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. zhouyanli@mail.kib.ac.cn.
² Plant Germplasm and Genomics Center, the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. zhouyanli@mail.kib.ac.cn.
³ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. zhouyanli@mail.kib.ac.cn.
⁴ Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. sunxudong@mail.kib.ac.cn.
⁵ Plant Germplasm and Genomics Center, the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. sunxudong@mail.kib.ac.cn.
⁶ Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at Kunming, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. sunxudong@mail.kib.ac.cn.
⁷ Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. yangyunqiang@mail.kib.ac.cn.
⁸ Plant Germplasm and Genomics Center, the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. yangyunqiang@mail.kib.ac.cn.
⁹ Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at Kunming, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. yangyunqiang@mail.kib.ac.cn.
¹⁰ Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. lixiong@mail.kib.ac.cn.
¹¹ Plant Germplasm and Genomics Center, the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. lixiong@mail.kib.ac.cn.
¹² Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at Kunming, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. lixiong@mail.kib.ac.cn.
¹³ College of Horticulture and Landscape, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China. shidagonglao@gmail.com.
¹⁴ Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. yangyp@mail.kib.ac.cn.
¹⁵ Plant Germplasm and Genomics Center, the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. yangyp@mail.kib.ac.cn.
¹⁶ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. yangyp@mail.kib.ac.cn.
¹⁷ Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at Kunming, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. yangyp@mail.kib.ac.cn.

Abstract

Stipa purpurea (S. purpurea) is the dominant plant species in the alpine steppe of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. It is highly resistant to cold and drought conditions. However, the underlying mechanisms regulating the stress tolerance are unknown. In this study, a CIPK gene from S. purpurea (SpCIPK26) was isolated. The SpCIPK26 coding region consisted of 1392 bp that encoded 464 amino acids. The protein has a highly conserved catalytic structure and regulatory domain. The expression of SpCIPK26 was induced by drought and salt stress. SpCIPK26 overexpression in Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) plants provided increased tolerance to drought and salt stress in an abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent manner. Compared with wild-type A. thaliana plants, SpCIPK26-overexpressing plants had higher survival rates, water potentials, and photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm), as well as lower levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) following exposure to drought and salt stress. Gene expression analyses indicated stress-inducible genes (RD29A, RD29B, and ABF2) and a ROS-scavenger gene (CAT1) were upregulated in SpCIPK26-overexpressing plants after stress treatments. All of these marker genes are associated with ABA-responsive cis-acting elements. Additionally, the similarities in the gene expression patterns following ABA, mannitol, and NaCl treatments suggest SpCIPK26 has an important role during plant responses to drought and salt stress and in regulating ABA signaling.

Keywords: ABA; CIPK; ROS; Stipa purpurea; drought; salt.

MeSH terms

Arabidopsis / genetics*
Arabidopsis / metabolism
Arabidopsis Proteins / chemistry
Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics*
Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism
Catalase / genetics
Catalase / metabolism
Cold Shock Proteins and Peptides / genetics
Cold Shock Proteins and Peptides / metabolism
Conserved Sequence
DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
Droughts
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Poaceae / genetics
Protein Domains
Protein Kinases / chemistry
Protein Kinases / genetics*
Protein Kinases / metabolism
Reactive Oxygen Species / metabolism
Salt Tolerance / genetics*
Stress, Physiological*
Transcription Factors / genetics
Transcription Factors / metabolism
Transgenes*
Up-Regulation

Substances

ABF2 protein, Arabidopsis
Arabidopsis Proteins
Cold Shock Proteins and Peptides
DNA-Binding Proteins
RD29B protein, Arabidopsis
RD29a protein, Arabidopsis
Reactive Oxygen Species
Transcription Factors
Catalase
CIPK26 protein, Arabidopsis
Protein Kinases