ModulatingAtDREB1CExpression Improves Drought Tolerance inSalvia miltiorrhiza.
Dehydration responsive element binding proteins are transcription factors of the plant-specific AP2 family, many of which contribute to abiotic stress responses in several plant species. We investigated the possibility of increasing drought tolerance in the traditional Chinese medicinal herb,Salvia miltiorrhiza, through modulating the transcriptional regulation ofAtDREB1Cin transgenic plants under the control of a constitutive (35S) or drought-inducible (RD29A) promoter. AtDREB1C transgenicS. miltiorrhizaplants showed increased survival under severe drought conditions compared to the non-transgenic wild-type (WT) control. However, transgenic plants with constitutive overexpression ofAtDREB1Cshowed considerable dwarfing relative to WT. Physiological tests suggested that the higher chlorophyll content, photosynthetic capacity, and superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase activity in the transgenic plants enhanced plant drought stress resistance compared to WT. Transcriptome analysis ofS. miltiorrhizafollowing drought stress identified a number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the AtDREB1C transgenic lines and WT. These DEGs are involved in photosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, ribosome, starch and sucrose metabolism, and other metabolic pathways. The modified pathways involved in plant hormone signaling are thought to be one of the main causes of the increased drought tolerance of AtDREB1C transgenicS. miltiorrhizaplants.
College of Life Sciences, Nankai UniversityTianjin, China; School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengdu, China.
Tao
T
Wei
School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengdu, China; Center for Informational Biology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengdu, China.
Kejun
K
Deng
College of Life Sciences, Nankai University Tianjin, China.
Qingxia
Q
Zhang
College of Life Sciences, Nankai University Tianjin, China.
Yonghong
Y
Gao
School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengdu, China; Center for Informational Biology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengdu, China.
Yu
Y
Liu
College of Life Sciences, Nankai University Tianjin, China.
Meiling
M
Yang
College of Life Sciences, Nankai University Tianjin, China.
Lipeng
L
Zhang
School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengdu, China; Center for Informational Biology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengdu, China.
Xuelian
X
Zheng
College of Life Sciences, Nankai University Tianjin, China.
Chunguo
C
Wang
College of Life Sciences, Nankai University Tianjin, China.
Zhiwei
Z
Liu
College of Life Sciences, Nankai University Tianjin, China.
Chengbin
C
Chen
School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengdu, China; Center for Informational Biology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengdu, China.
Yong
Y
Zhang
AtDREB1C; Salvia miltiorrhiza; antioxidative metabolism; drought; photosynthetic capacity; transcriptome