title: The R2R3-type MYB gene OsMYB91 has a function in coordinating plant growth and salt stress tolerance in rice.
abstract: Plants have evolved a number of different mechanisms to respond and to adapt to abiotic stress for their survival. However, the regulatory mechanisms involved in coordinating abiotic stress tolerance and plant growth are not fully understood. Here, the function of OsMYB91, an R2R3-type MYB transcription factor of rice was explored. OsMYB91 was induced by abiotic stress, especially by salt stress. Analysis of chromatin structure of the gene revealed that salt stress led to rapid removal of DNA methylation from the promoter region and rapid changes of histone modifications in the locus. Plants over-expressing OsMYB91 showed reduced plant growth and accumulation of endogenous ABA under control conditions. Under salt stress, the over-expression plants showed enhanced tolerance with significant increases of proline levels and a highly enhanced capacity to scavenge active oxygen as well as the increased induction of OsP5CS1 and LOC_Os03g44130 compared to wild type, while RNAi plants were less sensitive. In addition, expression of OsMYB91 was also induced by other abiotic stresses and hormone treatment. More interestingly, SLR1, the rice homolog of Arabidopsis DELLA genes that have been shown to integrate endogenous developmental signals with adverse environmental conditions, was highly induced by OsMYB91 over-expression, while the salt-induction of SLR1 expression was impaired in the RNAi plants. These results suggested that OsMYB91 was a stress-responsive gene that might be involved in coordinating rice tolerance to abiotic stress and plant growth by regulating SLR1 expression.
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: zhuning88@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: compilcated@webmail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Saifeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: lxytcw@webmail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaoyun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: duhao@webmail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: mingqiudai@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Mingqiu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay (IPS2), Université Paris Sud 11, 91405 Orsay, France. Electronic address: dao-xiu.zhou@u-psud.fr.
authors.forename: Dao-Xiu
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: ywj910523@163.com.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and National Center of Plant Gene Research (Wuhan), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: zhaoyu@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D055049:Salt Tolerance; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: Abiotic stress; Epigenetic modifications; Oryza sativa; OsMYB91; Plant growth