title: Rice G-protein subunits qPE9-1 and RGB1 play distinct roles in abscisic acid responses and drought adaptation.
abstract: Heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein (G-protein)-mediated abscisic acid (ABA) and drought-stress responses have been documented in numerous plant species. However, our understanding of the function of rice G-protein subunits in ABA signalling and drought tolerance is limited. In this study, the function of G-protein subunits in ABA response and drought resistance in rice plants was explored. It was found that the transcription level of qPE9-1 (rice Gγ subunit) gradually decreased with increasing ABA concentration and the lack of qPE9-1 showed an enhanced drought tolerance in rice plants. In contrast, mRNA levels of RGB1 (rice Gβ subunit) were significantly upregulated by ABA treatment and the lack of RGB1 led to reduced drought tolerance. Furthermore, the results suggested that qPE9-1 negatively regulates the ABA response by suppressing the expression of key transcription factors involved in ABA and stress responses, while RGB1 positively regulates ABA biosynthesis by upregulating NCED gene expression under both normal and drought stress conditions. Taken together, it is proposed that RGB1 is a positive regulator of the ABA response and drought adaption in rice plants, whereas qPE9-1 is modulated by RGB1 and functions as a negative regulator in the ABA-dependent drought-stress responses.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Plant Functional Genomics, Yangzhou University, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Dong-Ping
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Plant Functional Genomics, Yangzhou University, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Plant Functional Genomics, Yangzhou University, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Plant Functional Genomics, Yangzhou University, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Xue-Jiao
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China jsliang@yzu.edu.cn wfxu@issas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Wei-Feng
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany, University of Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: František
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baluška
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Ji
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Plant Functional Genomics, Yangzhou University, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Guo-hua
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Plant Functional Genomics, Yangzhou University, Jiangsu, China jsliang@yzu.edu.cn wfxu@issas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jian-Sheng
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D000040:Abscisic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D000064:Acclimatization; D055864:Droughts; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D000040:Abscisic Acid; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins
keywords: Abscisic acid; G-protein subunits; RGB1; drought; qPE9-1; rice.