title: Overexpression of OsERF48 causes regulation of OsCML16, a calmodulin-like protein gene that enhances root growth and drought tolerance.
abstract: The AP2/ERF family is a plant-specific transcription factor family whose members have been associated with various developmental processes and stress tolerance. Here, we functionally characterized the drought-inducible OsERF48, a group Ib member of the rice ERF family with four conserved motifs, CMI-1, -2, -3 and -4. A transactivation assay in yeast revealed that the C-terminal CMI-1 motif was essential for OsERF48 transcriptional activity. When OsERF48 was overexpressed in an either a root-specific (ROXOsERF48) or whole-body (OXOsERF48) manner, transgenic plants showed a longer and denser root phenotype compared to the nontransgenic (NT) controls. When plants were grown on a 40% polyethylene glycol-infused medium under in vitro drought conditions, ROXOsERF48plants showed a more vigorous root growth than OXOsERF48and NT plants. In addition, the ROXOsERF48plants exhibited higher grain yield than OXOsERF48and NT plants under field-drought conditions. We constructed a putative OsERF48 regulatory network by cross-referencing ROXOsERF48root-specific RNA-seq data with a co-expression network database, from which we inferred the involvement of 20 drought-related genes in OsERF48-mediated responses. These included genes annotated as being involved in stress signalling, carbohydrate metabolism, cell-wall proteins and drought responses. They included, OsCML16, a key gene in calcium signalling during abiotic stress, which was shown to be a direct target of OsERF48 by chromatin immunoprecipitation-qPCR analysis and a transient protoplast expression assay. Our results demonstrated that OsERF48 regulates OsCML16, a calmodulin-like protein gene that enhances root growth and drought tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang, Korea.|Center for Nutraceutical and Pharmaceutical Materials, Division of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Myongji University, Yongin, Gyeonggi, Korea.
authors.forename: Harin
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, Korea.
authors.forename: Pil Joong
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang, Korea.
authors.forename: Su-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang, Korea.
authors.forename: Mark Christian Felipe Reveche
authors.initials: MCFR
authors.lastname: Redillas
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang, Korea.
authors.forename: Youn Shic
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Center for Nutraceutical and Pharmaceutical Materials, Division of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Myongji University, Yongin, Gyeonggi, Korea.
authors.forename: Joo-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Agricultural Technology and Crop Biotechnology Institute/GreenBio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang, Korea.
authors.forename: Ju-Kon
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D018533:Biomass; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D055864:Droughts; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D012275:Oryza / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000254:growth & development*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: 
  OsERF48
  ; calmodulin-like protein; co-regulatory network; drought tolerance; root growth