title: Novel NAC transcription factor TaNAC67 confers enhanced multi-abiotic stress tolerances in Arabidopsis.
abstract: Abiotic stresses are major environmental factors that affect agricultural productivity worldwide. NAC transcription factors play pivotal roles in abiotic stress signaling in plants. As a staple crop, wheat production is severely constrained by abiotic stresses whereas only a few NAC transcription factors have been characterized functionally. To promote the application of NAC genes in wheat improvement by biotechnology, a novel NAC gene designated TaNAC67 was characterized in common wheat. To determine its role, transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing TaNAC67-GFP controlled by the CaMV-35S promoter was generated and subjected to various abiotic stresses for morphological and physiological assays. Gene expression showed that TaNAC67 was involved in response to drought, salt, cold and ABA treatments. Localization assays revealed that TaNAC67 localized in the nucleus. Morphological analysis indicated the transgenics had enhanced tolerances to drought, salt and freezing stresses, simultaneously supported by enhanced expression of multiple abiotic stress responsive genes and improved physiological traits, including strengthened cell membrane stability, retention of higher chlorophyll contents and Na(+) efflux rates, improved photosynthetic potential, and enhanced water retention capability. Overexpression of TaNAC67 resulted in pronounced enhanced tolerances to drought, salt and freezing stresses, therefore it has potential for utilization in transgenic breeding to improve abiotic stress tolerance in crops.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory for Crop Gene Resources and Germplasm Enhancement, Ministry of Agriculture, The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xinguo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory for Crop Gene Resources and Germplasm Enhancement, Ministry of Agriculture, The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shuangshuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory for Crop Gene Resources and Germplasm Enhancement, Ministry of Agriculture, The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ang
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory for Crop Gene Resources and Germplasm Enhancement, Ministry of Agriculture, The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chaochao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory for Crop Gene Resources and Germplasm Enhancement, Ministry of Agriculture, The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ruilian
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jing
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D042541:Intracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D021381:Protein Transport; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014908:Triticum / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D014157:Transcription Factors