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. 2005 Nov;139(3):1313-22.
doi: 10.1104/pp.105.070110. Epub 2005 Oct 21.

Enhanced tolerance to environmental stress in transgenic plants expressing the transcriptional coactivator multiprotein bridging factor 1c

Nobuhiro Suzuki  1 , Ludmila Rizhsky, Hongjian Liang, Joel Shuman, Vladimir Shulaev, Ron Mittler
Affiliations

Enhanced tolerance to environmental stress in transgenic plants expressing the transcriptional coactivator multiprotein bridging factor 1c

Nobuhiro Suzuki et al. Plant Physiol. 2005 Nov.

Abstract

Abiotic stresses cause extensive losses to agricultural production worldwide. Acclimation of plants to abiotic conditions such as drought, salinity, or heat is mediated by a complex network of transcription factors and other regulatory genes that control multiple defense enzymes, proteins, and pathways. Associated with the activity of different transcription factors are transcriptional coactivators that enhance their binding to the basal transcription machinery. Although the importance of stress-response transcription factors was demonstrated in transgenic plants, little is known about the function of transcriptional coactivators associated with abiotic stresses. Here, we report that constitutive expression of the stress-response transcriptional coactivator multiprotein bridging factor 1c (MBF1c) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) enhances the tolerance of transgenic plants to bacterial infection, heat, and osmotic stress. Moreover, the enhanced tolerance of transgenic plants to osmotic and heat stress was maintained even when these two stresses were combined. The expression of MBF1c in transgenic plants augmented the accumulation of a number of defense transcripts in response to heat stress. Transcriptome profiling and inhibitor studies suggest that MBF1c expression enhances the tolerance of transgenic plants to heat and osmotic stress by partially activating, or perturbing, the ethylene-response signal transduction pathway. Present findings suggest that MBF1 proteins could be used to enhance the tolerance of plants to different abiotic stresses.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Characterization of transgenic plants expressing MBF1c (MBF1c-OE). A, Relative expression of MBF1 transcripts (MBF1a, At2g42680; MBF1b, At3g58680; MBF1c, At3g24500) in transgenic plants expressing MBF1c (MBF1c-OE) or wild-type plants subjected to heat stress, drought, or a combination of heat stress and drought (after Rizhsky et al. [2004b]). B, Growth and productivity of wild-type and MBF1c-expressing (MBF1c-OE) transgenic plants. Plants were grown at 21°C, 14-h light cycle, 100 μmol m−2 s−1, and a relative humidity of 70%. Production of transgenic plants and RNA blots were performed as described in “Materials and Methods.” **, Student's t test significant at P < 0.01.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Enhanced tolerance of transgenic plants expressing MBF1c (MBF1c-OE) to heat stress and bacterial growth. A, Survival rates of wild-type and transgenic seedlings in response to heat stress (45°C for 2 h), showing enhanced basal thermotolerance of MBF1c-expressing plants. B, In planta bacterial population measurements showing enhanced resistance of MBF1c-expressing plants to Pseudomonas syringae inoculation. Bacteria (50 cfu cm−2 prepared in water) was infiltrated into leaves with a syringe. Forty-eight hours after inoculation, bacteria was extracted from leaves, plated on agar plates, and scored for cfu cm−2. C, Augmented accumulation of anthocyanins in MBF1c-expressing plants in response to light stress (1,000 μmol m−2 s−1 for 48 h). Stress assays and pathogen infection were performed as described in “Materials and Methods.” **, Student's t test significant at P < 0.01.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Enhanced tolerance of transgenic seedlings expressing MBF1c (MBF1c-OE) to heat stress, osmotic stress, or a combination of osmotic and heat stress. A, Root growth of wild-type and transgenic seedlings subjected to heat stress (38°C, 48 h), osmotic stress (sorbitol, 50, 200, and 300 mm), or their combination. B, Survival rate measurements of MBF1c-expressing seedlings subjected to heat stress (45°C for 2 h) or heat stress combined with osmotic stress (sorbitol, 50, 100 mm). C, A photograph of wild-type and transgenic seedlings subjected to heat stress (45°C for 2 h) combined with osmotic stress (sorbitol, 100 mm). Stress assays were performed as described in “Materials and Methods.” **, Student's t test significant at P < 0.01; *, Student's t test significant at P < 0.05.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Augmented response of MBF1c-expressing plants (MBF1c-OE) to heat stress. A time-course RNA gel-blot analysis of 2-week-old wild-type and MBF1c-expressing plants subjected to heat stress (38°C, 10, 20, 30, and 60 min), showing the augmented accumulation of transcripts encoding Zat12, Zat7, APX2, and ferritin in transgenic plants. Time-course experiments were repeated three times with similar results. Representative RNA blots are shown. RNA blots and stress assays were performed as described in “Materials and Methods.” Plants were grown at 21°C, 14-h light cycle, 100 μmol m−2 s−1, and a relative humidity of 70% and subjected to heat stress as described above. Arrow on right side of top section indicates the transgenic transcript of MBF1c. **, Student's t test significant at P < 0.01.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Enhanced tolerance to abiotic stress in MBF1c-expressing plants is mediated by ethylene signaling. A, Triple-response phenotype of etiolated MBF1c-expressing seedlings in the presence or absence of ACC compared to wild type. B, Survival rate measurements showing suppression of MBF1c-induced tolerance to abiotic stress by the ethylene-signaling inhibitor AVG. C, Root growth measurements of ein2 seedlings, impaired in ethylene sensing, showing enhanced sensitivity to osmotic and heat stress compared to wild type. Stress assays, application of AVG, and ein2 analysis were performed as described in “Materials and Methods.” **, Student's t test significant at P < 0.01.
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