title: Overexpression of the OsERF71 Transcription Factor Alters Rice Root Structure and Drought Resistance.
abstract: Plant responses to drought stress require the regulation of transcriptional networks via drought-responsive transcription factors, which mediate a range of morphological and physiological changes. AP2/ERF transcription factors are known to act as key regulators of drought resistance transcriptional networks; however, little is known about the associated molecular mechanisms that give rise to specific morphological and physiological adaptations. In this study, we functionally characterized the rice (Oryza sativa) drought-responsive AP2/ERF transcription factor OsERF71, which is expressed predominantly in the root meristem, pericycle, and endodermis. Overexpression of OsERF71, either throughout the entire plant or specifically in roots, resulted in a drought resistance phenotype at the vegetative growth stage, indicating that overexpression in roots was sufficient to confer drought resistance. The root-specific overexpression was more effective in conferring drought resistance at the reproductive stage, such that grain yield was increased by 23% to 42% over wild-type plants or whole-body overexpressing transgenic lines under drought conditions. OsERF71 overexpression in roots elevated the expression levels of genes related to cell wall loosening and lignin biosynthetic genes, which correlated with changes in root structure, the formation of enlarged aerenchyma, and high lignification levels. Furthermore, OsERF71 was found to directly bind to the promoter of OsCINNAMOYL-COENZYME A REDUCTASE1, a key gene in lignin biosynthesis. These results indicate that the OsERF71-mediated drought resistance pathway recruits factors involved in cell wall modification to enable root morphological adaptations, thereby providing a mechanism for enhancing drought resistance.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Korea (D.-K.L., H.J., J.S.J., Y.S.K., J.-K.K.);Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea (G.J., Y.D.C.); andDepartment of Genetic Engineering and Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea (S.-H.H.).
authors.forename: Dong-Keun
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4952-8004
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Korea (D.-K.L., H.J., J.S.J., Y.S.K., J.-K.K.);Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea (G.J., Y.D.C.); andDepartment of Genetic Engineering and Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea (S.-H.H.).
authors.forename: Harin
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2789-4887
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Korea (D.-K.L., H.J., J.S.J., Y.S.K., J.-K.K.);Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea (G.J., Y.D.C.); andDepartment of Genetic Engineering and Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea (S.-H.H.).
authors.forename: Geupil
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Korea (D.-K.L., H.J., J.S.J., Y.S.K., J.-K.K.);Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea (G.J., Y.D.C.); andDepartment of Genetic Engineering and Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea (S.-H.H.).
authors.forename: Jin Seo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Korea (D.-K.L., H.J., J.S.J., Y.S.K., J.-K.K.);Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea (G.J., Y.D.C.); andDepartment of Genetic Engineering and Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea (S.-H.H.).
authors.forename: Youn Shic
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Korea (D.-K.L., H.J., J.S.J., Y.S.K., J.-K.K.);Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea (G.J., Y.D.C.); andDepartment of Genetic Engineering and Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea (S.-H.H.).
authors.forename: Sun-Hwa
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Korea (D.-K.L., H.J., J.S.J., Y.S.K., J.-K.K.);Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea (G.J., Y.D.C.); andDepartment of Genetic Engineering and Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea (S.-H.H.).
authors.forename: Yang
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4706-5154
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Do Choi
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Korea (D.-K.L., H.J., J.S.J., Y.S.K., J.-K.K.);Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea (G.J., Y.D.C.); andDepartment of Genetic Engineering and Graduate School of Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea (S.-H.H.) jukon@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Ju-Kon
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8905-7617
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics; D055864:Droughts; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D012275:Oryza / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors