Overexpression of a stress-responsive NAC transcription factor gene ONAC022 improves drought and salt tolerance in rice

The NAC transcription factors play critical roles in regulating stress responses in plants. However, the functions for many of the NAC family members in rice are yet to be identified. In the present study, a novel stress-responsive rice NAC gene, ONAC022, was identified. Expression of ONAC022 was induced by drought, high salinity and abscisic acid (ABA). The ONAC022 protein was found to bind specifically to a canonical NAC recognition cis-element sequence and showed transactivation activity at its C-terminus in yeast. The ONAC022 protein was localized to nucleus when transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. Three independent transgenic rice lines with overexpression of ONAC022 were generated and used to explore the function of ONAC022 in drought and salt stress tolerance. Under drought stress condition in greenhouse, soil-grown ONAC022-overexpressing (N22oe) transgenic rice plants showed an increased drought tolerance, leading to higher survival ratios and better growth than wild type plants. When grown hydroponically in Hogland solution supplemented with 150 mM NaCl, the N22oe plants displayed an enhanced salt tolerance and accumulated less Na+ in roots and shoots as compared to the wild type plants. Under drought stress condition, the N22oe plants exhibited decreased rates of water loss and transpiration, reduced percentage of open stomata and increased contents of proline and soluble sugars. However, the N22oe lines showed increased sensitivity to exogenous ABA at seed germination and seedling growth stages but contained higher level of endogenous ABA. Expression of some ABA biosynthetic genes (OsNCEDs and OsPSY), signaling and regulatory genes (OsPP2C02, OsPP2C49, OsPP2C68, OsbZIP23, OsAP37, OsDREB2a and OsMYB2) and late stress-responsive genes (OsRAB21, OsLEA3 and OsP5CS1) was upregulated in the N22oe plants. Our data demonstrate that ONAC022 functions as a stress-responsive NAC with transcriptional activator activity and plays a positive role in drought and salt stress tolerance through modulating an ABA-mediated pathway

Tomato SlRbohB, a member of the NADPH oxidase family, is required for disease resistance against Botrytis cinerea and tolerance to drought stress

NADPH oxidases (also known as respiratory burst oxidase homologues, Rbohs) are the enzymes that catalyze the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants. In the present study, eight SlRboh genes were identified in tomato and their possible involvement in resistance to Botrytis cinerea and drought tolerance was examined. Expression of SlRbohs was induced by B. cinerea and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato but displayed distinct patterns. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS)-based silencing of SlRbohB resulted in reduced resistance to B. cinerea but silencing of each of other SlRbohs did not affect the resistance. The SlRbohB-silenced plants accumulated more ROS and attenuated expression of defense genes after infection of B. cinerea than the nonsilenced plants. Silencing of SlRbohB also suppressed flg22-induced ROS burst and the expression of SlLrr22, a marker gene related to PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI). Transient expression of SlRbohB in Nicotiana benthamiana led to enhanced resistance to B. cinerea. Furthermore, silencing of SlRbohB resulted in decreased drought tolerance, accelerated water loss in leaves and altered expression of drought-responsive genes. Our data demonstrate that SlRbohB positively regulates the resistance to B. cinerea, flg22-induced PTI and drought tolerance in tomato

Arabidopsis AtERF15 positively regulates immunity against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 and Botrytis cinerea

Upon pathogen infection, activation of immune response requires effective transcriptional reprogramming that regulates inducible expression of a large set of defense genes. A number of ethylene-responsive factor transcription factors have been shown to play critical roles in regulating immune responses in plants. In the present study, we explored the functions of Arabidopsis AtERF15 in immune responses against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000, a (hemi)biotrophic bacterial pathogen, and Botrytis cinerea, a necrotrophic fungal pathogen. Expression of AtERF15 was induced by infection of Pst DC3000 and B. cinerea and by treatments with salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate. Biochemical assays demonstrated that AtERF15 is a nucleus-localized transcription activator. The AtERF15-overexpressing (AtERF15-OE) plants displayed enhanced resistance while the AtERF15-RNAi plants exhibited decreased resistance against Pst DC3000 and B. cinerea. Meanwhile, Pst DC3000- or B. cinerea-induced expression of defense genes was upregulated in AtERF15-OE plants but downregulated in AtERF15-RNAi plants, as compared to the expression in wild type plants. In response to infection with B. cinerea, the AtERF15-OE plants accumulated less reactive oxygen species (ROS) while the AtERF15-RNAi plants accumulated more ROS. The flg22- and chitin-induced oxidative burst was abolished and expression levels of the pattern-triggered immunity-responsive genes AtFRK1 and AtWRKY53 were suppressed in AtER15-RNAi plants upon treatment with flg22 or chitin. Furthermore, SA-induced defense response was also partially impaired in the AtERF15-RNAi plants. These data demonstrate that AtERF15 is a positive regulator of multiple layers of the immune responses in Arabidopsis