JUNGBRUNNEN1, a Reactive Oxygen Species-Responsive NAC Transcription Factor, Regulates Longevity in Arabidopsis

• Published in: The Plant cell 2012-02, Vol.24 (2), p.482-506
• Main Authors: Wu, Anhui, Allu, Annapurna Devi, Garapati, Prashanth, Siddiqui, Hamad, Dortay, Hakan, Zanor, Maria-Inés, Asensi-Fabado, Maria Amparo, Munné-Bosch, Sergi, Antonio, Carla, Tohge, Takayuki, Fernie, Alisdair R., Kaufmann, Kerstin, Xue, Gang-Ping, Mueller-Roeber, Bernd, Balazadeh, Salma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: abiotic stress; Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Arabidopsis - physiology; Arabidopsis Proteins; Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism; Arabidopsis thaliana; Binding Sites; Cellular senescence; comprehensive analysis; Control systems; environmental-stress; functional-genomics; Gene expression regulation; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Gene Knockdown Techniques; Gene Regulatory Networks; gene-expression; Genes; genetics; glucosinolate biosynthesis; glutathione transferase; heat shock proteins; heat-stress response; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydrogen Peroxide - pharmacology; juvenility; leaf senescence; Leaves; Longevity; metabolism; Metabolites; Metabolome; Mutagenesis, Insertional; Oxidative stress; oxygen; pharmacology; physiology; Plant cells; plant stress; Plants; Plants, Genetically Modified; Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics; Plants, Genetically Modified - metabolism; Plants, Genetically Modified - physiology; programmed cell-death; promoter regions; Promoter Regions, Genetic; protoplasts; Reactive Oxygen Species; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; regulator genes; Seedlings; stress response; stress tolerance; Stress, Physiological; Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transcriptome; Transgenic plants
• ISSN: 1040-4651; 1532-298X
• DOI: 10.1105/tpc.111.090894

The transition from juvenility through maturation to senescence is a complex process that involves the regulation of longevity. Here, we identify JUNGBRUNNEN1 (JUB1), a hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced NAC transcription factor, as a central longevity regulator in Arabidopsis thaliana. JUB1 overexpression strongly delays senescence, dampens intracellular H₂O₂ levels, and enhances tolerance to various abiotic stresses, whereas in jub1-1 knockdown plants, precocious senescence and lowered abiotic stress tolerance are observed. A JUB1 binding site containing a RRYGCCGT core sequence is present in the promoter of DREB2A, which plays an important role in abiotic stress responses. JUB1 transactivates DREB2A expression in mesophyll cell protoplasts and transgenic plants and binds directly to the DREB2A promoter. Transcriptome profiling of JUB1 overexpressors revealed elevated expression of several reactive oxygen species-responsive genes, including heat shock protein and glutathione S-transferase genes, whose expression is further induced by H₂O₂ treatment. Metabolite profiling identified elevated Pro and trehalose levels in JUB1 overexpressors, in accordance with their enhanced abiotic stress tolerance. We suggest that JUB1 constitutes a central regulator of a finely tuned control system that modulates cellular H₂O₂ level and primes the plants for upcoming stress through a gene regulatory network that involves DREB2A.