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Genome-wide analysis and expression profiling of the DREB transcription factor gene family in Malus under abiotic stress

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Abstract

The dehydration responsive element binding (DREB) transcription factor family is one of the most promising regulons for genetic engineering of plant responses to abiotic stresses. However, knowledge about apple DREB genes is limited. In the present study, we found, for the first time, 68 MdDREB genes that could be further classified into six subgroups against the entire genome of apple. All putative proteins from those genes contained a typical APETALA 2 domain and shared similar motifs. The predicted MdDREBs were distributed with different densities over 12 chromosomes, with five tandem duplication sites occurring simultaneously. Both Genevestigator and expressed sequence tags were used for preliminary investigations of expression patterns. Results from quantitative real-time PCR showed that transcript levels of some putative MdDREB genes were up-regulated significantly under various abiotic-stress treatments, which indicated their vital roles during stress adaptation. Identifying these genes and profiling their expression provides useful information and constitutes a foundation for their further, practical utilization in apple through gene-transfer techniques.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

AP2/EREBP:

APETALA 2/ethylene-responsive element binding protein

CBF:

C-repeat binding factor

CRT:

C-repeat

DRE:

Dehydration responsive element

DREB:

Dehydration responsive element binding protein

MdDREB :

Malus domestica dehydration responsive element binding protein

qRT-PCR:

Quantitative real-time PCR

TF:

Transcription factor

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Hi-Tech Research and Development Program of China (2008AA10Z157) and by the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System. The authors are grateful to Priscilla Licht for help in revising our English composition and to Mr. Xuanchang Fu for management of the apple trees.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas, College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Tao Zhao, Dong Liang, Ping Wang, Jingying Liu & Fengwang Ma

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  1. Tao Zhao
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  2. Dong Liang
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  3. Ping Wang
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  4. Jingying Liu
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  5. Fengwang Ma
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Correspondence to Fengwang Ma.

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Communicated by S. Hohmann.

T. Zhao and D. Liang contributed equally to this work.

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Zhao, T., Liang, D., Wang, P. et al. Genome-wide analysis and expression profiling of the DREB transcription factor gene family in Malus under abiotic stress. Mol Genet Genomics 287, 423–436 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-012-0687-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-012-0687-7

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