A previously unknown zinc finger protein, DST, regulates drought and salt tolerance in rice via stomatal aperture control.
Abiotic stresses, such as drought and salinity, lead to crop growth damage and a decrease in crop yields. Stomata control CO(2) uptake and optimize water use efficiency, thereby playing crucial roles in abiotic stress tolerance. Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) is an important signal molecule that induces stomatal closure. However, the molecular pathway that regulates the H(2)O(2) level in guard cells remains largely unknown. Here, we clone and characterize DST (drought and salt tolerance)-a previously unknown zinc finger transcription factor that negatively regulates stomatal closure by direct modulation of genes related to H(2)O(2) homeostasis-and identify a novel pathway for the signal transduction of DST-mediated H(2)O(2)-induced stomatal closure. Loss of DST function increases stomatal closure and reduces stomatal density, consequently resulting in enhanced drought and salt tolerance in rice. These findings provide an interesting insight into the mechanism of stomata-regulated abiotic stress tolerance, and an important genetic engineering approach for improving abiotic stress tolerance in crops.
Huang
Xin-Yuan
XY
National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Chao
Dai-Yin
DY
Gao
Ji-Ping
JP
Zhu
Mei-Zhen
MZ
Shi
Min
M
Lin
Hong-Xuan
HX
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D055864:Droughts; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D054046:Plant Stomata / Q000502:physiology*; D055049:Salt Tolerance / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide