Os08g0454000
OsDERF1 (drought-responsive ERF genes 1) is a novel putative ERF protein in rice[1].
Contents
Annotated Information
Function
Figure 1. OsDERF1 transcriptionally regulates drought response in rice.(from reference [1]).
- OsDERF1 negatively regulates drought stress through affecting osmolyte accumulation in rice. OsDERF1 directly interacted with GCC box in OsERF3 and OsAP2-39 genes to activate the genes expression(Figure 1)[1].
- Transcriptional activation of OsDERF1 in OsERF3 and OsAP2-39 negatively regulates ethylene biosynthesis. ACC application partially recovers the drought tolerance of OsDERF1-targeted OsERF3(Figure 1). OsDERF1 can not only activate the expression of rice ERF repressors, but can also up-regulate the expression of OsGSK1, OsPP2C, OsABI5 and OsGA2ox1[1].
- ERF protein OsDERF1 as a transcriptional activator directly interacts with GCC box, resulting in the expression of rice repressors OsERF3 and OsAP2-39 (Figure 1). These repressors further suppress the expression of ethylene synthesis-related genes, possibly interacting with GCC box and DRE, thereby reducing ethylene production. The decreased ethylene production disorders the hormone balance, subsequently affecting osmotic adjustment and drought response in rice[1].
Mutation
OE and RI[1]：
- Overexpression of OsDERF1 (OE)
- RNA interference OsDERF1 rice/knockdown of OsDERF1(RI)
- RI seedling significantly decreased while OE lines enhanced malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation under PEG treatment, an end product of membrane lipid peroxidation, indicating that OsDERF1 positive affects the production of oxidative stress.
- OE seedlings had reduced expression (while RI lines showed enhanced expression) of ethylene synthesis genes, thereby resulting in changes in ethylene production.
- OE led to reduced tolerance to drought stress in rice at seedling stage, while RI expression conferred enhanced tolerance at seedling and tillering stages. This regulation was supported by negative modulation in osmotic adjustment response.
- Interestingly, 979 genes showed two fold increases in OE lines compared to Nipponbare, suggesting that overexpression of OsDERF1 can activate the expression of a large number of genes.
Expression
- The expression of OsDERF1 is induced by dehydration, ABA and ethylene precursor ACC[1]:
- The expression of OsDERF1 was highly induced by ACC treatment at 1 h, and reached maximum induction at 2 h, then decreased.
- The transcripts of OsDERF1 in response to dehydration were quickly peaked at 0.5 h then decreased. Interestingly, the transcripts of OsDERF1 showed a second increase and peaked after dehydration induction for 3 h.
- The expression of OsDERF1 obviously increased and peaked after ABA treatment for 1 h.
- OsDERF1 expression did not significantly alter when seedlings were subjected to salt and cold, indicating that OsDERF1 might be associated with ethylene- and ABA-related drought response.
- Overexpression of OsERF3/OsAP2-39 suppressed ethylene synthesis. The transcripts of OsDERF1 were highly expressed in seedling roots and sheaths, compared to seedling leaves, whereas the expression of OsDERF1 was mainly detected in leaves, sheaths, stems, and in flowers during flowering stages, indicating that the OsDERF1 might mainly function at the tissues as the transcriptional expression[1].
Subcellular localization
OsDERF1 is a nuclear-localized protein[1].
Evolution
OsDERF1 located in rice chromosome 8, encodes a 243-amino-acid protein with predicted molecular mass of 23.8 kDa. Amino acid analysis indicated that the putative protein contains a typical ERF/AP2 domain at 26–91th amino acids, an activation domain at 161–180th amino acids, and a nuclear localization signal at 25–34th amino acids. The conserved protein sequence implies that OsDERF1 might have an important regulatory role in rice[1].
Knowledge Extension
- Transcription factors are important among the stress-responsive genes, and their protein products are known to regulate the expression of other stress-responsive genes via binding to the regulatory elements. Among the plant transcription factors, ethylene response factor (ERF) is one of the largest subfamilies of Apetala2 (AP2)/ERF transcription factor family and is characterized with single AP2 domain[2].
- ERFs are a double-edged sword; though most of the ERFs are activators of stress-responsive genes, certain ERF could act as repressor, and this phenomenon of ERF has been well discussed in this review. ERFs are important in plant stress management and complexity in regulation of ERF expression in response to various stresses[2].
Labs working on this gene
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
- National Key Facility of Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Beijing, China
- National Center for Plant Gene Research (Beijing), Beijing, China
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Wan L, Zhang J, Zhang H, et al. Transcriptional activation of OsDERF1 in OsERF3 and OsAP2-39 negatively modulates ethylene synthesis and drought tolerance in rice[J]. PLoS One, 2011, 6(9): e25216.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Thirugnanasambantham K, Durairaj S, Saravanan S, et al. Role of Ethylene Response Transcription Factor (ERF) and Its Regulation in Response to Stress Encountered by Plants[J]. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter, 2014: 1-11.
