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A novel rice calmodulin-like gene, OsMSR2, enhances drought and salt tolerance and increases ABA sensitivity in Arabidopsis

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Abstract

Many abiotic stimuli, such as drought and salt stresses, elicit changes in intracellular calcium levels that serve to convey information and activate adaptive responses. Ca2+ signals are perceived by different Ca2+ sensors, and calmodulin (CaM) is one of the best-characterized Ca2+ sensors in eukaryotes. Calmodulin-like (CML) proteins also exist in plants, but their functions at the physiological and molecular levels are largely unknown. In this report, we present data on OsMSR2 (Oryza sativa L. Multi-Stress-Responsive gene 2), a novel calmodulin-like protein gene isolated from rice Pei’ai 64S (Oryza sativa L.). Expression of OsMSR2 was strongly up-regulated by a wide spectrum of stresses, including cold, drought, and heat in different tissues at different developmental stages of rice, as revealed by both microarray and quantitative real-time RT-PCR analyses. Analysis of the recombinant OsMSR2 protein demonstrated its potential ability to bind Ca2+ in vitro. Expression of OsMSR2 conferred enhanced tolerance to high salt and drought in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) accompanied by altered expression of stress/ABA-responsive genes. Transgenic plants also exhibited hypersensitivity to ABA during the seed germination and post-germination stages. The results suggest that expression of OsMSR2 modulated salt and drought tolerance in Arabidopsis through ABA-mediated pathways.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

CaM:

Calmodulin

CaMV:

Cauliflower mosaic virus

CBL:

Calcineurin B-like protein

CDPK:

Ca2+-dependent protein kinase

CML:

Calmodulin-like gene

GFP:

Green fluorescent protein

Pn:

Net photosynthesis rate

qRT-PCR:

Quantitative real-time RT-PCR

Tr:

Transpiration rate

WT:

Wild type

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by One Hundred Person Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (02200420062903), Major Program of Hunan Province (009FJ1012) and Nitrogen and Phosphorus cycling and manipulation for agro-ecosystems and the Knowledge Innovation program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-T07).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Agro-ecological Process in the Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hunan, 410125, China

    Guo-Yun Xu, Pedro S. C. F. Rocha, Man-Ling Wang, Yan-Chun Cui, Luo-Ye Li, Yu-Xing Zhu & Xinjie Xia

  2. Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Guo-Yun Xu & Yan-Chun Cui

  3. Life Science College, Hunan Normal University, Hunan, 410081, China

    Meng-Liang Xu

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  1. Guo-Yun Xu
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  2. Pedro S. C. F. Rocha
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Correspondence to Xinjie Xia.

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Xu, GY., Rocha, P.S.C.F., Wang, ML. et al. A novel rice calmodulin-like gene, OsMSR2, enhances drought and salt tolerance and increases ABA sensitivity in Arabidopsis. Planta 234, 47–59 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-011-1386-z

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