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Hv-WRKY38: a new transcription factor involved in cold- and drought-response in barley

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Abstract

WRKY proteins constitute a large family of plant specific transcription factors implicated in many different processes. Here we describe Hv-WRKY38,a barley gene coding for a WRKY protein, whose expression is involved in cold and drought stress response. Hv-WRKY38 was early and transiently expressed during exposure to low non-freezing temperature, in ABA-independent manner. Furthermore, it showed a continuous induction during dehydration and freezing treatments. A WRKY38:YFP fusion protein was found to localise into the nucleus upon introduction into epidermal onion cells. Bacterially expressed Hv-WRKY38 was able to bind in vitro to the W-box element (T)TGAC(C/T) also recognisable by other WRKY proteins. Hv-WRKY38genomic DNA was sequenced and mapped onto the centromeric region of the barley chromosome 6H. Arabidopsis and rice sequences homologous to Hv-WRKY38 were also identified. Our results indicate that Hv-WRKY38 transcription factor may play a regulatory role in abiotic stress response.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Sperimentale per la Cerealicoltura, Via S, Protaso, 302, Italy

    Caterina Marè, Cristina Crosatti, Enrico Francia, A.␣michele Stanca & Luigi Cattivelli

  2. Istituto Sperimentale per la Cerealicoltura, SS. 16 Km 675, Italy

    Elisabetta Mazzucotelli

  3. Dipartimento di Biologia sez. Biologia evolutiva, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, via Borsari, 47, Italy

    Elisabetta Mazzucotelli

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  1. Caterina Marè
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Marè, C., Mazzucotelli, E., Crosatti, C. et al. Hv-WRKY38: a new transcription factor involved in cold- and drought-response in barley. Plant Mol Biol 55, 399–416 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-004-0906-7

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