The cold-stress responsive gene DREB1A involved in low-temperature tolerance in Xinjiang wild walnut

Liqun Han; Kai Ma; Yu Zhao; Chuang Mei; Aisajan Mamat; Jixun Wang; Ling Qin; Tianming He

doi:10.7717/peerj.14021

The cold-stress responsive gene DREB1A involved in low-temperature tolerance in Xinjiang wild walnut

PeerJ. 2022 Sep 8:10:e14021. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14021. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Liqun Han^{1

2}, Kai Ma², Yu Zhao², Chuang Mei², Aisajan Mamat², Jixun Wang², Ling Qin^{1

3}, Tianming He¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Horticulture, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, China.
² Institute of Horticultural Crops, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Genome Research and Genetic Improvement of Xinjiang Characteristic Fruits and Vegetables/Xinjiang Fruit Science Experiment Station, Ministry of Agriculture, Urumqi, China.
³ College of Plant Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Background: Low-temperatures have the potential to be a serious problem for plants and can negatively affect the normal growth and development of walnuts. DREB1/CBF (Dehydration Responsive Element Binding Protein 1/C-repeat Binding Factor), one of the most direct transcription factors in response to low-temperature stress, may improve the resistance of plants to low-temperatures by regulating their functional genes. However, few studies have been conducted in walnut. The Xinjiang wild walnut is a rare wild plant found in China, with a large number of excellent trait genes, and is hardier than cultivated walnuts in Xinjiang.

Methods: In this work, we identified all of the DREB1 members from the walnut genome and analyzed their expression levels in different tissues and during low-temperature stress on the Xinjiang wild walnut. The JfDREB1A gene of the Xinjiang wild walnut was cloned and transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana for functional verification.

Results: There were five DREB1 transcription factors in the walnut genome. Among them, the relative expression level of the DREB1A gene was significantly higher than other members in the different tissues (root, stem, leaf) and was immediately un-regulated under low-temperature stress. The overexpression of the JfDREB1A gene increased the survival rates of transgenic Arabidopsis lines, mainly through maintaining the stability of cell membrane, decreasing the electrical conductivity and increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT). Additionally, the expression levels of cold-inducible genes like AtKIN1, AtERD10, AtRD29A, AtCOR15A and AtCOR47, were significantly increased. These results showed that the JfDREB1A gene may play an important role in the response to cold stress of the Xinjiang wild walnut. This study contributes to our understanding of the molecular mechanism of the Xinjiang wild walnut's response to low-temperature stress and will be beneficial for developing walnut cultivars with improved cold resistance.

Keywords: Cold resistance; JfDREB1A gene; Low-temperature stress; Transgenic Arabidopsis; Xinjiang wild walnut.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Arabidopsis Proteins* / metabolism
Arabidopsis* / genetics
Cold Temperature
Cold-Shock Response / genetics
Juglans* / genetics
Plants / metabolism
Temperature
Transcription Factors / genetics

Substances

Transcription Factors
DREB1A protein, Arabidopsis
Arabidopsis Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Project of Renovation Capacity Building for the Young Sci-Tech Talents Sponsored by Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (No. xjnkq-2019002) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32060665). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.