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MpAsr encodes an intrinsically unstructured protein and enhances osmotic tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis

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Abstract

Abscisic acid-, stress- and ripening (ASR) -induced proteins are plant-specific proteins whose expression is up-regulated under abiotic stresses or during fruit ripening. In this study, we characterized an ASR protein from plantain to explore its physiological roles under osmotic stress. The expression pattern of MpAsr gene shows that MpAsr gene changed little at the mRNA level, while the MpASR protein accumulates under osmotic treatment. Through bioinformatic-based predictions, circular dichroism spectrometry, and proteolysis and heat-stability assays, we determined that the MpASR protein is an intrinsically unstructured protein in solution. We demonstrated that the hydrophilic MpASR protein could protect l-lactate dehydrogenase (l-LDH) from cold-induced aggregation. Furthermore, heterologous expression of MpAsr in Escherichia coli and Arabidopsis enhanced the tolerance of transformants to osmotic stress. Transgenic 35S::MpAsr Arabidopsis seeds had a higher germination frequency than wild-type seeds under unfavorable conditions. At the physiological level, 35S::MpAsr Arabidopsis showed increased soluble sugars and decreased cell membrane damage under osmotic stress. Thus, our results suggest that the MpASR protein may act as an osmoprotectant and water-retaining molecule to help cell adjustment to water deficit caused by osmotic stress.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

ASR:

ABA-, stress- and ripening-induced protein

CD:

Circular dichroism

E. coli :

Escherichia coli

FW:

Fresh weight

IDP:

Intrinsically disordered protein

LEA:

Late embryogenesis abundant protein

l-LDH:

l-lactate dehydrogenase

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SSH:

Suppression subtractive hybridization

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30771235 and 30800600) and Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Provincial, China (7003637).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and The Key Laboratory of Gene Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Jin-Ran Dai, Bing Liu, Dong-Ru Feng, Hai-yan Liu, Yan-ming He, Kang-biao Qi, Hong-Bin Wang & Jin-Fa Wang

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  1. Jin-Ran Dai
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  2. Bing Liu
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Correspondence to Hong-Bin Wang.

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Communicated by M. Petersen.

J.-R. Dai and B. Liu contributed equally to this work.

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Dai, JR., Liu, B., Feng, DR. et al. MpAsr encodes an intrinsically unstructured protein and enhances osmotic tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. Plant Cell Rep 30, 1219–1230 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-011-1030-1

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