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Over-expression of ArathEULS3 confers ABA sensitivity and drought tolerance in Arabidopsis

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Abstract

Abscisic acid (ABA) is an important phytohormone involved in the regulation of plant growth, development and adaption to various environmental challenges. Regulatory component of ABA receptor 1 (RCAR1, also known as PYL9) acts as a newly discovered ABA receptor in Arabidopsis. To identify interacting partners of RCAR1, we have carried out a yeast two-hybrid screen. One protein was identified, ArathEULS3, which belongs to the Euonymus europaeus lectin (EUL) family of plant lectins. The interaction between RCAR1 and ArathEULS3 was confirmed by GST pull-down assay. Transient expression of RCAR1-EGFP and ArathEULS3-EGFP in Arabidopsis protoplasts revealed that both proteins were mainly expressed in cytoplasm and nucleus. Real time qRT-PCR analysis showed that over-expression of RCAR1 increased the expression of ArathEULS3. Furthermore, up-regulating ArathEULS3 in Arabidopsis conferred ABA hypersensitivity during post-germination growth and enhanced drought tolerance, but did not affect the expression of RD29B, RAB18 and RD29A (ABA- and drought-responsive genes). Previously, ArathEULS3 was shown as a carbohydrate-binding plant lectin. Thus, our results reveal a direct connection between abiotic stress responses and plant lectin.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

CPK3:

Calcium dependent protein kinase 3

ABAR:

Abscisic acid receptor

CHLH:

Mg-chelatase H subunit

PYR:

Pyrabactin resistance

PYL:

PYR1-like

ABI1:

ABA-insensitive 1

ABI2:

ABA-insensitive 2

SnRK2.6:

SNF1-related protein kinase 2.6

ABF2:

ABRE-binding factor 2

AREB1:

ABA-responsive element binding protein 1

LD-PCR:

Long-distance PCR

PP2C:

Type 2C protein phosphatase

DAPI:

4′,6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31171586 to Y.Y.; 31271758 to J-M.W.), National 973 Project (2013CB733903 to Y.Y.) and National Transgene Project (2013ZX08009-003 to J-M.W.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Dekuan Li, Xiaoyu Wang, Dezhi Yuan, Liang Zhang, Xin Jiang, Zhiwen Tao, Ying Li, Jianmei Wang, Xufeng Li & Yi Yang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Dekuan Li & Yi Yang

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  1. Dekuan Li
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  2. Xiaoyu Wang
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Correspondence to Yi Yang.

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Li, D., Wang, X., Yuan, D. et al. Over-expression of ArathEULS3 confers ABA sensitivity and drought tolerance in Arabidopsis . Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 117, 431–442 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-014-0453-0

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