title: Zinc-Finger Transcription Factor ZAT6 Positively Regulates Cadmium Tolerance through the Glutathione-Dependent Pathway in Arabidopsis.
abstract: Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental pollutant with high toxicity to animals and plants. It has been established that the glutathione (GSH)-dependent phytochelatin (PC) synthesis pathway is one of the most important mechanisms contributing to Cd accumulation and tolerance in plants. However, the transcription factors involved in regulating GSH-dependent PC synthesis pathway remain largely unknown. Here, we identified an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Cd-resistant mutant xcd2-D (XVE system-induced cadmium-tolerance2) using a forward genetics approach. The mutant gene underlying xcd2-D mutation was revealed to encode a known zinc-finger transcription factor, ZAT6. Transgenic plants overexpressing ZAT6 showed significant increase of Cd tolerance, whereas loss of function of ZAT6 led to decreased Cd tolerance. Increased Cd accumulation and tolerance in ZAT6-overexpressing lines was GSH dependent and associated with Cd-activated synthesis of PC, which was correlated with coordinated activation of PC-synthesis related gene expression. By contrast, loss of function of ZAT6 reduced Cd accumulation and tolerance, which was accompanied by abolished PC synthesis and gene expression. Further analysis revealed that ZAT6 positively regulates the transcription of GSH1, GSH2, PCS1, and PCS2, but ZAT6 is capable of specifically binding to GSH1 promoter in vivo. Consistently, overexpression of GSH1 has been shown to restore Cd sensitivity in the zat6-1 mutant, suggesting that GSH1 is a key target of ZAT6. Taken together, our data provide evidence that ZAT6 coordinately activates PC synthesis-related gene expression and directly targets GSH1 to positively regulate Cd accumulation and tolerance in Arabidopsis.
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China (J.C., L.Y., X.Y., Yu.L., R.W., T.F., Y.R., X.T., Yo.L., S.C.); andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2339 (F.X.).
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China (J.C., L.Y., X.Y., Yu.L., R.W., T.F., Y.R., X.T., Yo.L., S.C.); andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2339 (F.X.).
authors.forename: Libo
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3347-4512
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China (J.C., L.Y., X.Y., Yu.L., R.W., T.F., Y.R., X.T., Yo.L., S.C.); andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2339 (F.X.).
authors.forename: Xingxing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China (J.C., L.Y., X.Y., Yu.L., R.W., T.F., Y.R., X.T., Yo.L., S.C.); andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2339 (F.X.).
authors.forename: Yunlei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China (J.C., L.Y., X.Y., Yu.L., R.W., T.F., Y.R., X.T., Yo.L., S.C.); andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2339 (F.X.).
authors.forename: Ren
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China (J.C., L.Y., X.Y., Yu.L., R.W., T.F., Y.R., X.T., Yo.L., S.C.); andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2339 (F.X.).
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China (J.C., L.Y., X.Y., Yu.L., R.W., T.F., Y.R., X.T., Yo.L., S.C.); andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2339 (F.X.).
authors.forename: Yongbing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China (J.C., L.Y., X.Y., Yu.L., R.W., T.F., Y.R., X.T., Yo.L., S.C.); andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2339 (F.X.).
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China (J.C., L.Y., X.Y., Yu.L., R.W., T.F., Y.R., X.T., Yo.L., S.C.); andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2339 (F.X.).
authors.forename: Fangming
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China (J.C., L.Y., X.Y., Yu.L., R.W., T.F., Y.R., X.T., Yo.L., S.C.); andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2339 (F.X.) liuyongsheng1122@hfut.edu.cn shuqingcao@hfut.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yongsheng
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0956-8693
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China (J.C., L.Y., X.Y., Yu.L., R.W., T.F., Y.R., X.T., Yo.L., S.C.); andDepartment of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2339 (F.X.) liuyongsheng1122@hfut.edu.cn shuqingcao@hfut.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shuqing
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6693-877X
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002104:Cadmium / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D005721:Glutamate-Cysteine Ligase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D054811:Phytochelatins / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016335:Zinc Fingers
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C525378:ZAT6 protein, Arabidopsis; D002104:Cadmium; D054811:Phytochelatins; D005721:Glutamate-Cysteine Ligase; C493655:Gsh1 protein, Arabidopsis; D005978:Glutathione