Abstract
Main conclusion
Santalum album (E,E)-α-farnesene synthase catalyzes FPP into (E,E)-α-farnesene. Overexpression of the SaAFS gene positively improved cold stress tolerance through JA biosynthesis and signaling pathways in Arabidopsis.
Abstract
Volatile terpenoids are released from plants that suffer negative effects following exposure to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Recent studies revealed that (E,E)-α-farnesene synthase (AFS) plays a significant role in a plant’s defence against biotic attack. However, little is known about whether AFS contributes to plant resistance to cold stress. In this study, a SaAFS gene was isolated from Indian sandalwood (Santalum album L.) and functionally characterized. The SaAFS protein mainly converts farnesyl diphosphate to (E,E)-α-farnesene. SaAFS was clustered into the AFS clade from angiosperms, suggesting a highly conserved enzyme. SaAFS displayed a significant response to cold stress and methyl jasmonate. SaAFS overexpression (OE) in Arabidopsis enhanced cold tolerance by increasing proline content, reducing malondialdehyde content, electrolyte leakage, and accumulating reactive oxygen species. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that upregulated genes related to stress response and JA biosynthesis and signaling were detected in SaAFS-OE lines compared with wild type plants that were exposed to cold stress. Endogenous JA and jasmonoyl-isoleucine content increased significantly in SaAFS-OE lines exposed to cold stress. Collectively considered, these results suggest that the SaAFS gene is a positive regulator during cold stress tolerance via JA biosynthesis and signaling pathways.
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Data availability statement
The raw RNA-seq data were deposited in the Sequence Read Archive database (accession number from SRR23283351 to SRR23283374).
Abbreviations
- AFS:
-
(E,E)-α-Farnesene synthase
- CBF:
-
C-repeat (CRT)-binding factor
- CORs:
-
Cold-responsive genes
- FPP:
-
Farnesyl diphosphate
- GP:
-
Germination percentage
- GPP:
-
Geranyl diphosphate
- JA:
-
Jasmonic acid
- MDA:
-
Malondialdehyde
- ROS:
-
Reactive oxygen species
- TPS:
-
Terpene synthase
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Acknowledgements
This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32171841, 31870666), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2019A1515011590 and 2021A1515012068) and Guangdong Special Support Program (2017TQ04N303).
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Zhang, X., Chen, X., Teixeira da Silva, J.A. et al. Characterization of sandalwood (E,E)-α-farnesene synthase whose overexpression enhances cold tolerance through jasmonic acid biosynthesis and signaling in Arabidopsis. Planta 258, 54 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-023-04212-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-023-04212-1