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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2025, Vol. 24 Issue (4): 1390-1402    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2023.10.015
Crop Science Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
The ABA-inducible gene IbTSJT1 positively regulates drought tolerance in transgenic sweetpotato

Yuxin Wang, Huan Zhang, Shaopei Gao, Hong Zhai, Shaozhen He, Ning Zhao, Qingchang Liu#

Key Laboratory of Sweetpotato Biology and Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Beijing Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement/Laboratory of Crop Heterosis and Utilization, Ministry of Education/College of Agronomy & Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
 Highlights 
IbTSJT1 positively regulates drought tolerance in sweetpotato.
IbABF2 activates the expression of IbTSJT1 by directly binding to its promoter.
IbTSJT1 enhances drought tolerance by inducing stomatal closure and activating reactive oxygen species scavenging system
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摘要  

TSJT1属于 Class-Ⅱ谷氨酰胺酰胺基转移酶超家族成员。目前有关TSJT1在植物中的作用及调控机制的研究很少。本研究甘薯抗旱品系徐薯55-2分离出受植物激素ABA诱导的基因IbTSJT1。该基因的表达受PEG6000ABA的强烈诱导。亚细胞定位表明,IbTSJT1蛋白定位于细胞核和细胞膜上。过表达IbTSJT1基因显著提高了甘薯的抗旱性。干旱条件下,过表达甘薯植株中ABA和脯氨酸含量提高,SOD和POD活性增强,ROS清除系统基因被上调。叶片气孔开度实验表明,过表达IbTSJT1基因提高了转基因甘薯植株的ABA敏感。酵母单杂交(Y1H)、凝胶阻滞实验(EMSA)、双荧光素酶(Dual-Luc)和染色质免疫沉淀ChIP-qPCR)等实验结果表明,IbABF2直接结合在IbTSJT1基因启动子中的ABA响应元件ABRE上,并激活其表达。这些研究结果表明,IbTSJT1基因介导ABA依赖的干旱胁迫响应,并通过诱导气孔关闭和激活ROS清除系统来增强转基因甘薯的抗旱性。本研究为提高甘薯和其他植物的旱性提供了新的候选基因。



Abstract  

The TSJT1 protein belongs to the class-II glutamine amidotransferase (GATase) superfamily.  Research on the functions and underlying mechanisms of TSJT1 in plants is limited.  In this study, the abscisic acid (ABA)-inducible gene IbTSJT1 was isolated from drought-tolerant sweetpotato line Xushu 55-2.  Its expression was strongly induced by PEG6000 and ABA.  The IbTSJT1 protein was localized in the nucleus and cell membrane.  IbTSJT1-overexpressing sweetpotato plants exhibited significantly enhanced drought tolerance.  Their ABA and proline contents and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities were increased, and their reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging-related genes were upregulated under drought stress.  The stomatal aperture assay confirmed that the IbTSJT1-overexpressing plants had greater sensitivity to ABA.  The results of yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assay, electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), luciferase reporter assay and ChIP-qPCR assay indicated that IbABF2 can directly bind to the cis-acting ABA-responsive element (ABRE) in the IbTSJT1 promoter to activate the expression of IbTSJT1.  These findings suggest that IbTSJT1 mediates ABA-dependent drought stress responses and enhances drought tolerance by inducing stomatal closure and activating the ROS scavenging system in transgenic sweetpotato.  Our study provides a novel gene for improving drought tolerance in sweetpotato and other plants. 

Keywords:  sweetpotato        IbTSJT1        ABA        IbABF2        drought tolerance  
Received: 14 July 2023   Accepted: 20 September 2023
Fund: This work was supported by the earmarked fund for CARS-10-Sweetpotato and the Beijing Food Crops Innovation Consortium Program, China (BJLSTD03).
About author:  #Correspondence Qingchang Liu, Tel: +86-10-62733710, E-mail: liuqc@cau.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

Yuxin Wang, Huan Zhang, Shaopei Gao, Hong Zhai, Shaozhen He, Ning Zhao, Qingchang Liu. 2025. The ABA-inducible gene IbTSJT1 positively regulates drought tolerance in transgenic sweetpotato. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24(4): 1390-1402.

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