AUTHOR=Tang Yuehui , Liu Kun , Zhang Ju , Li Xiaoli , Xu Kedong , Zhang Yi , Qi Jing , Yu Deshui , Wang Jian , Li Chengwei 

TITLE=JcDREB2, a Physic Nut AP2/ERF Gene, Alters Plant Growth and Salinity Stress Responses in Transgenic Rice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2017.00306

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2017.00306

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Transcription factors of the AP2/ERF family play important roles in plant growth, development, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, a physic nut AP2/ERF gene, <italic>JcDREB2</italic>, was functionally characterized. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that <italic>JcDREB2</italic> was expressed mainly in the leaf and could be induced by abscisic acid but suppressed by gibberellin (GA) and salt. Transient expression of a JcDREB2-YFP fusion protein in Arabidopsis protoplasts cells suggested that JcDREB2 is localized in the nucleus. Rice plants overexpressing <italic>JcDREB2</italic> exhibited dwarf and GA-deficient phenotypes with shorter shoots and roots than those of wild-type plants. The dwarfism phenotype could be rescued by the application of exogenous GA<sub>3</sub>. The expression levels of GA biosynthetic genes including <italic>OsGA20ox1</italic>, <italic>OsGA20ox2</italic>, <italic>OsGA20ox4</italic>, <italic>OsGA3ox2, OsCPS1</italic>, <italic>OsKO2</italic>, and <italic>OsKAO</italic> were significantly reduced in plants overexpressing <italic>JcDREB2</italic>. Overexpression of <italic>JcDREB2</italic> in rice increased sensitivity to salt stress. Increases in the expression levels of several salt-tolerance-related genes in response to salt stress were impaired in <italic>JcDREB2</italic>-overexpressing plants. These results demonstrated not only that <italic>JcDREB2</italic> influences GA metabolism, but also that it can participate in the regulation of the salt stress response in rice.</p>