DCA1 Acts as a Transcriptional Co-activator of DST and Contributes to Drought and Salt Tolerance in Rice.
Natural disasters, including drought and salt stress, seriously threaten food security. In previous work we cloned a key zinc finger transcription factor gene, Drought and Salt Tolerance (DST), a negative regulator of drought and salt tolerance that controls stomatal aperture in rice. However, the exact mechanism by which DST regulates the expression of target genes remains unknown. In the present study, we demonstrated that DST Co-activator 1 (DCA1), a previously unknown CHY zinc finger protein, acts as an interacting co-activator of DST. DST was found to physically interact with itself and to form a heterologous tetramer with DCA1. This transcriptional complex appears to regulate the expression of peroxidase 24 precursor (Prx 24), a gene encoding an H2O2 scavenger that is more highly expressed in guard cells. Downregulation of DCA1 significantly enhanced drought and salt tolerance in rice, and overexpression of DCA1 increased sensitivity to stress treatment. These phenotypes were mainly influenced by DCA1 and negatively regulated stomatal closure through the direct modulation of genes associated with H2O2 homeostasis. Our findings establish a framework for plant drought and salt stress tolerance through the DCA1-DST-Prx24 pathway. Moreover, due to the evolutionary and functional conservation of DCA1 and DST in plants, engineering of this pathway has the potential to improve tolerance to abiotic stress in other important crop species.
National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Centre for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences and Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Long-Gang
LG
Cui
National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Centre for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences and Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Jun-Xiang
JX
Shan
National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Centre for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences and Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Min
M
Shi
National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Centre for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences and Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Ji-Ping
JP
Gao
National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Centre for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences and Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Hong-Xuan
HX
Lin
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D055864:Droughts; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D012275:Oryza; D010544:Peroxidases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D055049:Salt Tolerance / Q000235:genetics; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics
D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D010544:Peroxidases