AUTHOR=Cheng Qun , Gan Zhuoran , Wang Yanping , Lu Sijia , Hou Zhihong , Li Haiyang , Xiang Hongtao , Liu Baohui , Kong Fanjiang , Dong Lidong 

TITLE=The Soybean Gene J Contributes to Salt Stress Tolerance by Up-Regulating Salt-Responsive Genes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.00272

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2020.00272

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Soybean [<italic>Glycine max</italic> (L.) Merr.] is an important crop for oil and protein resources worldwide, and its farming is impacted by increasing soil salinity levels. In <italic>Arabidopsis</italic> the gene <italic>EARLY FLOWERING 3</italic> (<italic>ELF3</italic>), increased salt tolerance by suppressing salt stress response pathways. <italic>J</italic> is the ortholog of <italic>AtELF3</italic> in soybean, and loss-of-function <italic>J</italic>-alleles greatly prolong soybean maturity and enhance grain yield. The exact role of <italic>J</italic> in abiotic stress response in soybean, however, remains unclear. In this study, we showed that <italic>J</italic> expression was induced by NaCl treatment and that the J protein was located in the nucleus. Compared to NIL-<italic>J</italic>, tolerance to NaCl was significantly lower in the NIL-<italic>j</italic> mutant. We also demonstrated that overexpression of <italic>J</italic> increased NaCl tolerance in transgenic soybean hairy roots. J positively regulated expression of downstream salt stress response genes, including <italic>GmWRKY12</italic>, <italic>GmWRKY27</italic>, <italic>GmWRKY54, GmNAC</italic>, and <italic>GmSIN1</italic>. Our study disclosed a mechanism in soybean for regulation of the salt stress response. Manipulation of these genes should facilitate improvements in salt tolerance in soybean.</p>