Response of BpBZR genes to abiotic stress and hormone treatment in Betula platyphylla

Brassinazole-resistant (BZR) transcription factors have important roles in the brassinosteroid (BR) signalling pathway and are widely involved in plant growth and abiotic stress processes. However, there are few studies on the functions and regulatory mechanisms of BZR TFs in birch. In this study, 5...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant physiology and biochemistry 2020-06, Vol.151, p.157-165
Main Authors: Lv, Jiaxin, Li, Yabo, Liu, Zhongyuan, Li, Xinping, Lei, Xiaojin, Gao, Caiqiu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abiotic stress
Betula platyphylla
BZR transcription factor
Gene expression
Hormone treatment
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Summary:Brassinazole-resistant (BZR) transcription factors have important roles in the brassinosteroid (BR) signalling pathway and are widely involved in plant growth and abiotic stress processes. However, there are few studies on the functions and regulatory mechanisms of BZR TFs in birch. In this study, 5 BZR genes were identified from birch. The qRT-PCR results showed that the expression levels of most BpBZRs were significantly downregulated and/or upregulated in at least one organ following NaCl and PEG stress or ABA, GA3 and JA treatments. In particular, BpBZR1 expression was changed in all three organs after exposure to NaCl stress at all time points, indicating that this gene may be involved in salt stress. The BpBZR1 transcription factor was shown to have transcriptional activation activity in a yeast two-hybrid assay. Through a transient transformation system, we found that overexpression of BpBZR1 in birch resulted in lower H2O2 and MDA accumulation, higher SOD and POD activities and maintained a higher photosynthetic intensity and a lower chlorophyll degradation rate than those of the control plants under salt stress. These results preliminarily showed that overexpression of the BpBZR1 gene increased the tolerance of birch to salt stress. •BpBZR genes can respond to three abiotic stresses (salt and drought) and three hormone treatments (ABA, GA3 and JA).•BpBZR1 has transactivation activity.•BpBZR1 overexpression increased ROS-scavenging capability and antioxidant enzymes activities.•BpBZR1 could effectively enhance the tolerance of transgenic birch to salt stress.
ISSN:0981-9428
1873-2690
DOI:10.1016/j.plaphy.2020.03.001