OsRMC, a negative regulator of salt stress response in rice, is regulated by two AP2/ERF transcription factors

• Published in: Plant molecular biology Vol. 82; no. 4-5; pp. 439 - 455
• Main Authors: Serra, Tânia S., Figueiredo, Duarte D., Cordeiro, André M., Almeida, Diego M., Lourenço, Tiago, Abreu, Isabel A., Sebastián, Alvaro, Fernandes, Lisete, Contreras-Moreira, Bruno, Oliveira, M. Margarida, Saibo, Nelson J. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-07-2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abscisic Acid - pharmacology; Agricultural production; Aquatic plants; Baits; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Drought; Droughts; Environmental changes; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - drug effects; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - genetics; Life Sciences; Oryza - drug effects; Oryza - genetics; Oryza - metabolism; Oryza sativa; Plant biology; Plant Pathology; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plant Sciences; Rice; Salinity; Salt tolerance; Seedlings; Sodium Chloride - pharmacology; Transcription Factor AP-2 - genetics; Transcription Factor AP-2 - metabolism; Yeast; Yeasts; ABA; Adverse environmental conditions; High salinity; Yeast one-hybrid; Phosphorylation; Cold; EREBP; Abiotic stress; EMSA; Drought; Transcriptional regulation
• ISSN: 0167-4412; 1573-5028
• DOI: 10.1007/s11103-013-0073-9

High salinity causes remarkable losses in rice productivity worldwide mainly because it inhibits growth and reduces grain yield. To cope with environmental changes, plants evolved several adaptive mechanisms, which involve the regulation of many stress-responsive genes. Among these, we have chosen
OsRMC
to study its transcriptional regulation in rice seedlings subjected to high salinity. Its transcription was highly induced by salt treatment and showed a stress-dose-dependent pattern.
OsRMC
encodes a receptor-like kinase described as a negative regulator of salt stress responses in rice. To investigate how
OsRMC
is regulated in response to high salinity, a salt-induced rice cDNA expression library was constructed and subsequently screened using the yeast one-hybrid system and the
OsRMC
promoter as bait. Thereby, two transcription factors (TFs), OsEREBP1 and OsEREBP2, belonging to the AP2/ERF family were identified. Both TFs were shown to bind to the same GCC-like DNA motif in
OsRMC
promoter and to negatively regulate its gene expression. The identified TFs were characterized regarding their gene expression under different abiotic stress conditions. This study revealed that
OsEREBP1
transcript level is not significantly affected by salt, ABA or severe cold (5 °C) and is only slightly regulated by drought and moderate cold. On the other hand, the
OsEREBP2
transcript level increased after cold, ABA, drought and high salinity treatments, indicating that OsEREBP2 may play a central role mediating the response to different abiotic stresses. Gene expression analysis in rice varieties with contrasting salt tolerance further suggests that
OsEREBP2
is involved in salt stress response in rice.