title: Overexpression of a NF-YB3 transcription factor from Picea wilsonii confers tolerance to salinity and drought stress in transformed Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: Nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) is a highly conserved transcription factor comprising NF-YA, NF-YB and NF-YC subunits. To date, the roles of NF-Y subunit in plant still remain elusive. In this study, a subunit NF-YB (PwNF-YB3), was isolated from Picea wilsonii Mast. and its role was studied. PwNF-YB3 transcript was detected in all vegetative and reproductive tissues with higher levels in stem and root and was greatly induced by salinity, heat and PEG but not by cold and ABA treatment. Over-expression of PwNF-YB3 in Arabidopsis showed a significant acceleration in the onset of flowering and resulted in more vigorous seed germination and significant tolerance for seedlings under salinity, drought and osmotic stress compared with wild type plants. Transcription levels of salinity-responsive gene (SOS3) and drought-induced gene (CDPK1) were substantially higher in transgenic Arabidopsis than in wild-type plants. Importantly, CBF pathway markers (COR15B, KIN1, LEA76), but not ABA pathway markers CBF4, were greatly induced under condition of drought. The nuclear localization showed that NF-YB3 acted as a transcription factor. Taken together, the data provide evidence that PwNF-YB3 positively confers significant tolerance to salt, osmotic and drought stress in transformed Arabidopsis plants probably through modulating gene regulation in CBF-dependent pathway.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Forest Silviculture and Conservation of the Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China.
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Forest Silviculture and Conservation of the Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China.
authors.forename: Dun
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Forest Silviculture and Conservation of the Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China.
authors.forename: Yajing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Forest Silviculture and Conservation of the Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China.
authors.forename: Chaobing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Forest Silviculture and Conservation of the Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China.
authors.forename: Yanni
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Forest Silviculture and Conservation of the Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China. Electronic address: lyzhang@bjfu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lingyun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D028222:Picea / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D054712:Salinity; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: Drought; NF-YB; Osmotic stress; Picea wilsonii; Salt; Transcription factor