The Gma-miR394a/GmFBX176 module is involved in regulating the soybean (Glycine max L.) response to drought stress

Yuehua Yu; Ping Wang; Huina Wan; Yi Wang; Hao Hu; Zhiyong Ni

doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111879

The Gma-miR394a/GmFBX176 module is involved in regulating the soybean (Glycine max L.) response to drought stress

Plant Sci. 2023 Sep 29:337:111879. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111879. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yuehua Yu¹, Ping Wang², Huina Wan¹, Yi Wang², Hao Hu¹, Zhiyong Ni³

Affiliations

¹ College of Agronomy, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, PR China.
² College of Life Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, PR China.
³ College of Life Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, PR China. Electronic address: nizhiyong@126.com.

PMID: 37778470
DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111879

Abstract

Drought seriously affects the yield and quality of soybean. Previous studies have shown that the gma-miR394a/GmFBX176 module regulates the response of Arabidopsis to drought stress. However, whether the gma-miR394a/GmFBX176 module is involved in the regulation of the soybean drought stress response remains unclear. Here, the function of the gma-miR394a/GmFBX176 module in the soybean drought stress response was evaluated. In soybean hairy roots, drought stress induced the transcription of gma-miR394a and inhibited the transcription of GmFBX176. GUS histochemical staining showed that transgenic GmFBX176p:GUS soybean hairy root staining was weak and that GUS transcript levels decreased under drought stress. A transient expression experiment in tobacco showed that gma-miR394a inhibited GmFBX176 transcription. Under drought stress, composite soybean plants overexpressing gma-miR394a showed increased drought resistance compared with control K599 composite soybean plants (K599); their survival rate and peroxidase activity were higher than those of K599, and their malondialdehyde content was lower. In contrast, composite soybean plants overexpressing GmFBX176m3 (gma-miR394a complement site mutation) presented lower drought resistance than K599 plants. Transcriptomic sequencing showed that the gma-miR394a/GmFBX176 module affected the transcript levels of stress response genes and transcription factors. These results indicate that the gma-miR394a/GmFBX176 module can be used to improve the drought resistance of soybean.

Keywords: Drought stress; F-box protein; MicroRNA; Soybean.