Abstract
Aims
Salinity plays a crucial role in numerous environmental processes, with extreme concentrations resulting in the serious decline of global agricultural productivity. Plant-specific HD-Zip I transcription factors (TFs), particularly γ-clade HD-Zip I members, are key for the adaption of plants to various abiotic stresses. Our main purpose is to characterize the function of γ-clade HD-Zip I members in apple under salt stress.
Methods
GL-3 and transgenic plants were grown in a hydroponic system or in soil and exposed to the presence or absence of NaCl. Photosynthetic capacity, root damage, Na+ and K+ accumulation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and RNA-seq were investigated.
Results
MdHB-7 (γ-clade HD-Zip I TF) expression was induced by salt stress, particularly in the roots. We employed MdHB-7 overexpression and MdHB-7 RNAi transgenic apple plants for the treatments to explore the functions of MdHB-7 under salt stress. Results from the salt treatment and phenotypic evaluation revealed the enhancement of the salt tolerance of apple plants by the MdHB-7 expression. The overexpression of MdHB-7 reduced the salt stress-induced damage to root growth and vitality and maintained ion homeostasis. Moreover, the overexpression of MdHB-7 was observed to promote the detoxification of ROS. Transcriptome and qRT-PCR analysis demonstrate that MdHB-7 overexpression up-regulated the expression of antioxidant enzyme-related genes. MdHB-7-mediated root vitality, antioxidant activity and ion homeostasis were impaired, resulting in MdHB-7 RNAi lines that were more sensitive to salt stress.
Conclusions
Our results demonstrate the key role of MdHB-7 as a salinity stress tolerance regulator in apple (Malus domestica).
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Abbreviations
- CAT:
-
Catalase
- HD:
-
Homeodomain
- H2O2 :
-
Hydrogen peroxide
- HD-Zip:
-
Homeodomain–leucine zipper
- MDA:
-
Malondialdehyde
- O2 − :
-
Oxygen free radical
- POD:
-
Peroxidase
- REL:
-
Relative electrolyte leakage
- SOD:
-
Superoxide dismutase
- TFs:
-
Transcription factors
- Zip:
-
Leucine zipper
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFD1000303) and by the earmarked fund for the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-27). We thank Dr. Zhihong Zhang, Shenyang Agricultural University, for providing tissue-cultured GL-3 plants.
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FM, KM, and SZ conceived and designed the study; SZ, HG, XJ, and XL performed the analyses; SZ drafted the manuscript; FM and KM supervised the process of this research; FM and KM provided financial support for the study; All authors critically revised and provided final approval of this manuscript.
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Zhao, S., Gao, H., Jia, X. et al. The γ-clade HD-Zip I transcription factor MdHB-7 regulates salt tolerance in transgenic apple (Malus domestica). Plant Soil 463, 509–522 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04918-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04918-9