Abstract
Salinity is a pivotal abiotic stress factor with far-reaching consequences on global crop growth, yield, and quality and which includes strawberries. R2R3-MYB transcription factors encompass a range of roles in plant development and responses to abiotic stress. In this study, we identified that strawberry transcription factor FaMYB63 exhibited a significant upregulation in its expression under salt stress conditions. An analysis using yeast assay demonstrated that FaMYB63 exhibited the ability to activate transcriptional activity. Compared with those in the wild-type (WT) plants, the seed germination rate, root length, contents of chlorophyll and proline, and antioxidant activities (SOD, CAT, and POD) were significantly higher in FaMYB63-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants exposed to salt stress. Conversely, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) were considerably lower. Additionally, the FaMYB63-overexpressed Arabidopsis plants displayed a substantially improved capacity to scavenge active oxygen. Furthermore, the activation of stress-related genes by FaMYB63 bolstered the tolerance of transgenic Arabidopsis to salt stress. It was also established that FaMYB63 binds directly to the promoter of the salt overly sensitive gene SOS1, thereby activating its expression. These findings identified FaMYB63 as a possible and important regulator of salt stress tolerance in strawberries.
Key message
FaMYB63 overexpression in Arabidopsis increases survival rate under salt stress. FaMYB63 enhances salt tolerance by ROS clearance, balance of osmotic adjustment, and the regulation of stress-responsive genes expression.
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Funding
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of University in Anhui Province, China (KJ2021A0184, 2022AH050931), Anhui Province Natural Science Foundation (2108085MC105), and Key R&D Program of China (2022YFD1600702).
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SS Wang, RY Jiang, CB Fang, and J Zhao designed the experiment. SS Wang and RY Jiang performed the experiments. J Feng, HD Zou, and XH Han participated in experiments. SS Wang and RY Jiang collected and analyzed data. CB Fang and J Zhao wrote and revised the paper. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Wang, S., Jiang, R., Feng, J. et al. Overexpression of transcription factor FaMYB63 enhances salt tolerance by directly binding to the SOS1 promoter in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Mol Biol 114, 32 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-024-01431-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-024-01431-2