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Transcription factor MdCBF1 gene increases freezing stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana

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Biologia Plantarum

Abstract

Transcription factors play vital roles in stress signal transduction and gene expression modulation. The sequence analysis shows that MdCBF1 from Malus domestica Borkh. cv. Fuji contained an AP2 core domain of 56 amino acids. By comparison of deduced amino acid sequences of CBF related proteins, we deduced that MdCBF1 is a CBF transcription factor gene which belongs to AP2/EREBP family, DREB-A1 subfamily. Further, we reported that transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants expressing the MdCBF1 gene exhibited stronger growth than wild type plants under freezing stress. The analysis of RT-PCR for stress-responsive genes implied that MdCBF1 over-expressing plants had a higher expression of COR15a, RD29A, and RD29B genes than wild type plants. Collectively, our results indicate that MdCBF1 might play an important role in the response of transgenic Arabidopsis plants to freezing stress.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

abscisic acid

AP2:

apetala2

CBF:

C-repeat binding factor

CBF/DREB:

C-repeat binding factor/dehydration responsive element binding

DRE/CRT:

dehydration responsive element/C-repeat responsive element

EDTA:

ethylenediaminatetraacetic acid

ERF:

ethylene responsive factor

GM:

germination medium

GUS:

β-glucuronidase

LEA:

late embryogenesis-abundant

MDA:

malondialdehyde

NCBI:

National center for biotechnology information

RAV:

related to ABI3/VP1

REC:

relative electrical conductivity

TBARS:

thiobarbituric acid reactive substances

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetic Breeding, Biotech Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, 201106, China

    Y. Xue, Y. Y. Wang, R. H. Peng, J. L. Zhen, B. Zhu, J. J. Gao, W. Zhao, H. J. Han & Q. H. Yao

Authors
  1. Y. Xue
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  2. Y. Y. Wang
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  3. R. H. Peng
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  4. J. L. Zhen
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  5. B. Zhu
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  6. J. J. Gao
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  7. W. Zhao
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  9. Q. H. Yao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Q. H. Yao.

Additional information

Acknowledgments: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30800602), and was sponsored by the Shanghai PuJiang Program(11PJ1408500) and PaoGao Program. The research was also supported by the Key Project Fund of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of Agriculture (No. 2011-1-8).

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Xue, Y., Wang, Y.Y., Peng, R.H. et al. Transcription factor MdCBF1 gene increases freezing stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana . Biol Plant 58, 499–506 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-014-0432-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-014-0432-7

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