title: Molecular characterization of biotic and abiotic stress-responsive MAP kinase genes, IbMPK3 and IbMPK6, in sweetpotato.
abstract: Plants are continually exposed to numerous environmental stresses. To decrease damage caused by these potentially detrimental factors, various stress-related signaling cascades are activated in plants. One such stress-responsive signaling pathway, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) module, plays a critical role in diverse plant stress responses. Here, we functionally characterized biotic and abiotic stress-responsive MAPK genes, IbMPK3 and IbMPK6, from sweetpotato. IbMPK3/6 contain totally 11 MAPK conserved subdomains and the phosphorylating motif TEY. Bacterially expressed IbMPK3/6 could be autophosphorylated in vitro, and these proteins phosphorylated universal kinase substrate, such as myelin basic protein. IbMPK3/6 transcripts were expressed in leaf, stem, and root of sweetpotato cultivars with storage roots of various colors. IbMPK3 and IbMPK6 were induced by various biotic/abiotic stress treatments. Furthermore, the kinase activity of IbMPK3/6 was induced during early NaCl, SA, H2O2, and ABA treatment. IbMPK3/6 were predominantly localized to the nucleus. To determine the biological functions of IbMPK3/6, we transiently expressed the IbMPK genes in tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) leaves, which resulted in enhanced tolerance to bacterial pathogen and increased expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes. These data demonstrate that IbMPK3 and IbMPK6 play significant roles in plant responses to environmental stress.
authors.affiliation: Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), 125 Gwahak-ro, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ho Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), 125 Gwahak-ro, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Chul
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), 125 Gwahak-ro, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea; Department of Green Chemistry and Environmental Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), 217 Gajeong-ro, Daejeon, 34113, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chang Yoon
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), 125 Gwahak-ro, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea; Department of Green Chemistry and Environmental Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), 217 Gajeong-ro, Daejeon, 34113, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seyeon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), 125 Gwahak-ro, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea; Department of Green Chemistry and Environmental Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), 217 Gajeong-ro, Daejeon, 34113, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Cheol
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), 125 Gwahak-ro, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea; Department of Green Chemistry and Environmental Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), 217 Gajeong-ro, Daejeon, 34113, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Haeng-Soon
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), 125 Gwahak-ro, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea; Department of Green Chemistry and Environmental Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), 217 Gajeong-ro, Daejeon, 34113, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: sskwak@kribb.re.kr.
authors.forename: Sang-Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kwak
mesh_terms: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D027723:Ipomoea batatas / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D048371:MAP Kinase Kinase 3 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D048669:MAP Kinase Kinase 6 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D044224:Pseudomonas syringae / Q000472:pathogenicity; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D010940:Plant Proteins; D048371:MAP Kinase Kinase 3; D048669:MAP Kinase Kinase 6
keywords: Abiotic and biotic stress; IbMPK3; IbMPK6; Sweetpotato; Transient expression assay