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A WRKY transcription factor participates in dehydration tolerance in Boea hygrometrica by binding to the W-box elements of the galactinol synthase (BhGolS1) promoter

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Abstract

Accumulation of compatible osmolytes, such as soluble sugars, in plants is an important osmoprotective mechanism. Sugars play a role in osmotic adjustment and are associated with stabilization of proteins and cell structures, reactive oxygen species scavenging, signaling functions or induction of adaptive pathways. Galactinol is the galactosyl donor for the synthesis of raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) and its synthesis by galactinol synthase (GolS) is the first committed step of the RFOs biosynthetic pathway. GolS genes are induced by a variety of stresses in both stress-sensitive and tolerant-plant species; however, the mechanism of transcriptional regulation is not fully established. In this paper, we characterized a GolS gene (BhGolS1) that was dehydration and ABA-inducible in the resurrection plant Boea hygrometrica and conferred dehydration tolerance in a transgenic tobacco system. Four W-box cis-elements were identified in the BhGolS1 promoter and shown to be bound by an early dehydration and ABA-inducible WRKY gene (BhWRKY1). These data suggest a mechanism where BhWRKY1 is likely to function in an ABA-dependent signal pathway to regulate BhGolS1 expression, which leads to the accumulation of RFOs in desiccation-tolerant B. hygrometrica leaves.

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Abbreviations

GolS:

Galactinol synthase

Gol:

Galactinol

Raf:

Raffinose

RFO:

Raffinose family oligosaccharide

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program) (No. 2007AA021403) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30400027).

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  1. Jonathan Phillips

    Present address: Monsanto Company, 800 North Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis, MO, 63167, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center of Plant Molecular and Developmental Biology, Key Laboratory of Photosynthesis and Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, 100093, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Zhi Wang, Yan Zhu, Lili Wang, Xia Liu & Xin Deng

  2. Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, 100093, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Zhi Wang & Yongxiu Liu

  3. IMBIO (Molekulare Physiologie und Biotechnologie der Pflanzen), University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    Jonathan Phillips

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  1. Zhi Wang
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Wang, Z., Zhu, Y., Wang, L. et al. A WRKY transcription factor participates in dehydration tolerance in Boea hygrometrica by binding to the W-box elements of the galactinol synthase (BhGolS1) promoter. Planta 230, 1155–1166 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-009-1014-3

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