title: Arabidopsis MAPKKK18 positively regulates drought stress resistance via downstream MAPKK3.
abstract: Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are conserved and vital signaling components in the responses to various ambient stresses. Here, we report the identification of MAPKKK18, a drought resistance associated MAPK kinase kinase in Arabidopsis. The mapkkk18 knockout mutants displayed hypersensitivity to drought stress, whereas overaccumulation of MAPKKK18 in transgenic Arabidopsis plants significantly enhanced the resistance to drought. Expression pattern analysis revealed that the inducible expression of MAPKKK18 by osmotic stress was ABA and the canonical ABA signaling pathway dependent. Furthermore, MAPKKK18 mainly exerted its regulatory roles via downstream MAPKK3. These findings uncovered important roles for MAPKKK18 in drought resistance and expanded our understanding of the MAPK pathways in modulating abiotic stress responses.
authors.affiliation: College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Huixian
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Pu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Huiyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Changai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Kang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Shizhong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, PR China. Electronic address: jghuang@sdau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jinguang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an City, Shandong Province, PR China. Electronic address: cczheng@sdau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chengchao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000040:Abscisic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D055864:Droughts; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D054046:Plant Stomata; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D000040:Abscisic Acid; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases; C000598433:MAPKKK18 protein, Arabidopsis
keywords: Arabidopsis; Drought stress; MAPK; MAPKK3; MAPKKK18