The G-Protein β Subunit AGB1 Promotes Hypocotyl Elongation through Inhibiting Transcription Activation Function of BBX21 in Arabidopsis.

Hypocotyl development in Arabidopsis thaliana is regulated by light and endogenous hormonal cues, making it an ideal model to study the interplay between light and endogenous growth regulators. BBX21, a B-box (BBX)-like zinc-finger transcription factor, integrates light and abscisic acid signals to regulate hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis. Heterotrimeric G-proteins are pivotal regulators of plant development.

Overexpression of the autophagy-related gene SiATG8a from foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) confers tolerance to both nitrogen starvation and drought stress in Arabidopsis.

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved biological process in all eukaryotes for the degradation of intracellular components for nutrient recycling. Autophagy is known to be involved in responses to low nitrogen stress in Arabidopsis. Foxtail millet has strong abiotic stress resistance to both low nutrient and drought stress.

Investigation of the ASR family in foxtail millet and the role of ASR1 in drought/oxidative stress tolerance.

Six foxtail millet ASR genes were regulated by various stress-related signals. Overexpression of ASR1 increased drought and oxidative tolerance by controlling ROS homeostasis and regulating oxidation-related genes in tobacco plants. Abscisic acid stress ripening (ASR) proteins with ABA/WDS domains constituted a class of plant-specific transcription factors, playing important roles in plant development, growth and abiotic stress responses.

A G-protein β subunit, AGB1, negatively regulates the ABA response and drought tolerance by down-regulating AtMPK6-related pathway in Arabidopsis.

Heterotrimeric G-proteins are versatile regulators involved in diverse cellular processes in eukaryotes. In plants, the function of G-proteins is primarily associated with ABA signaling. However, the downstream effectors and the molecular mechanisms in the ABA pathway remain largely unknown.

ABI-like transcription factor gene TaABL1 from wheat improves multiple abiotic stress tolerances in transgenic plants.

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays crucial roles in adaptive responses of plants to abiotic stresses. ABA-responsive element binding proteins (AREBs) are basic leucine zipper transcription factors that regulate the expression of downstream genes containing ABA-responsive elements (ABREs) in promoter regions. A novel ABI-like (ABA-insensitive) transcription factor gene, named TaABL1, containing a conserved basic leucine zipper (bZIP) domain was cloned from wheat.

Characteristics and expression patterns of the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) gene superfamily of foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.).

Recent genomic sequencing of the foxtail millet, an abiotic, stress-tolerant crop, has provided a great opportunity for novel gene discovery and functional analysis of this popularly-grown grass. However, few stress-mediated gene families have been studied. Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) comprise a gene superfamily encoding NAD (P) +-dependent enzymes that play the role of "aldehyde scavengers", which indirectly detoxify cellular ROS and reduce the effect of lipid peroxidation meditated cellular toxicity under various environmental stresses.

Two wheat glutathione peroxidase genes whose products are located in chloroplasts improve salt and H2O2 tolerances in Arabidopsis.

Oxidative stress caused by accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is capable of damaging effects on numerous cellular components. Glutathione peroxidases (GPXs, EC 1.11.

A wheat PI4K gene whose product possesses threonine autophophorylation activity confers tolerance to drought and salt in Arabidopsis.

Phosphoinositides are involved in regulation of recruitment and activity of signalling proteins in cell membranes. Phosphatidylinositol (PI) 4-kinases (PI4Ks) generate PI4-phosphate the precursor of regulatory phosphoinositides. No type II PI4K research on the abiotic stress response has previously been reported in plants.

Heat shock protein 90 in plants: molecular mechanisms and roles in stress responses.

The heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) family mediates stress signal transduction, and plays important roles in the control of normal growth of human cells and in promoting development of tumor cells. Hsp90s have become a currently important subject in cellular immunity, signal transduction, and anti-cancer research. Studies on the physiological functions of Hsp90s began much later in plants than in animals and fungi.

A novel role for Arabidopsis CBL1 in affecting plant responses to glucose and gibberellin during germination and seedling development.

Glucose and phytohormones such as abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene, and gibberellin (GA) coordinately regulate germination and seedling development. However, there is still inadequate evidence to link their molecular roles in affecting plant responses. Calcium acts as a second messenger in a diverse range of signal transduction pathways.

The voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (AtVDAC1) negatively regulates plant cold responses during germination and seedling development in Arabidopsis and interacts with calcium sensor CBL1.

The voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), a highly conserved major mitochondrial outer membrane protein, plays crucial roles in energy metabolism and metabolite transport. However, knowledge about the roles of the VDAC family in plants is limited. In this study, we investigated the expression pattern of VDAC1 in Arabidopsis and found that cold stress promoted the accumulation of VDAC1 transcripts in imbibed seeds and mature plants.

Overexpression of soybean GmCBL1 enhances abiotic stress tolerance and promotes hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis.

Although extensive studies and remarkable progress have been made with Arabidopsis calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs), knowledge of their functions in other plant species is still limited. Here we isolated gene GmCBL1 from soybean, a homolog of AtCBL1 in Arabidopsis. GmCBL1 was differentially induced by multiple abiotic stress and plant hormones, and its transcripts were abundant in seedlings and mature roots.

A mutation in Arabidopsis BSK5 encoding a brassinosteroid-signaling kinase protein affects responses to salinity and abscisic acid.

As the most recently characterized group of plant hormones, brassinosteroids (BR) are involved in a number of physiological responses. Although many key components of the BR signaling pathway have been isolated and characterized, there is little information on detailed characterization of brassinosteroid-signaling kinase (BSK) proteins. In this study, Arabidopsis BSK5 was isolated and functionally analyzed.

Functions and application of the AP2/ERF transcription factor family in crop improvement.

Plants have acquired sophisticated stress response systems to adapt to changing environments. It is important to understand plants' stress response mechanisms in the effort to improve crop productivity under stressful conditions. The AP2/ERF transcription factors are known to regulate diverse processes of plant development and stress responses.

Isolation and characteristics of the CN gene, a tobacco mosaic virus resistance N gene homolog, from tobacco.

Nicotiana rustica L. HZNH, a native Chinese tobacco germplasm, displays a hypersensitive response (HR) and systemic acquired resistance following infection with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). A resistance gene, CN, cloned from HZNH plants, was homologous to the N and NH genes identified in other Nicotiana species.

W55a encodes a novel protein kinase that is involved in multiple stress responses.

Protein kinases play crucial roles in response to external environment stress signals. A putative protein kinase, W55a, belonging to SNF1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) subfamily, was isolated from a cDNA library of drought-treated wheat seedlings. The entire length of W55a was obtained using rapid amplification of 5' cDNA ends (5'-RACE) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).

Isolation and functional characterization of HvDREB1-a gene encoding a dehydration-responsive element binding protein in Hordeum vulgare.

A gene encoding Hordeum vulgare dehydration-responsive element binding protein 1 (HvDREB1), a member of the A-2 subgroup of the DREB subfamily, was isolated from barley seedlings. A subcellular localization assay revealed accumulation of HvDREB1 protein in the nucleus. As a trans-acting factor, HvDREB1 was able to bind to DRE/CRT elements and transactivate reporter gene expression in yeast cells.

A cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) DRE-binding transcription factor gene, GhDREB, confers enhanced tolerance to drought, high salt, and freezing stresses in transgenic wheat.

A cotton (G. hirsutum L.) dehydration responsive element binding protein gene, GhDREB, which encodes a 153 amino acid protein containing a conserved AP2/EREBP domain, was isolated from the cDNA library of cotton cv.

Phylogeny, gene structures, and expression patterns of the ERF gene family in soybean (Glycine max L.).

Members of the ERF transcription factor family play important roles in regulating gene expression in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In soybean (Glycine max L.), however, only a few ERF genes have been studied so far.

Characterization of the TaAIDFa gene encoding a CRT/DRE-binding factor responsive to drought, high-salt, and cold stress in wheat.

Dehydration responsive element-binding factors (DBFs) belong to the AP2/ERF superfamily and play vital regulatory roles in abiotic stress responses in plants. In this study, we isolated three novel homologs of the DBF gene family in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) by screening a drought-induced cDNA library and designated them as TaAIDFs (T.

Isolation and molecular characterization of the Triticum aestivum L. ethylene-responsive factor 1 (TaERF1) that increases multiple stress tolerance.

ERF transcription factors play important roles in regulating gene expression under abiotic and biotic stresses. The first member of the ERF gene family in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was isolated by screening a drought-induced cDNA library and designated as T.

GmDREB2, a soybean DRE-binding transcription factor, conferred drought and high-salt tolerance in transgenic plants.

A novel DREB (dehydration responsive element binding protein) homologous gene, GmDREB2, was isolated from soybean. Based on its similarity with AP2 domains, GmDREB2 was classified into A-5 subgroup in DREB subfamily in AP2/EREBP family. Expression of GmDREB2 gene was induced by drought, high salt, and low temperature stresses and abscisic acid treatment.

Fluorescent labeling of plant chromosomes in suspension by FISH.

By optimizing the concentration and time of treatment with hydroxyurea (HU), a DNA synthesis inhibitor, and trifluralin, a microtubule inhibitor, a highly effective (over 60%) cell cycle synchronization method for rye and barley meristem cells was developed. Chromosome suspensions containing highly purified and morphologically intact rye and barley chromosomes were prepared from the meristems of their root tips by homogenization. Digoxigenin-labeled 5S rDNA was used as a probe in FISH for the rye chromosomes in the suspension, and biotin-labeled 17S rDNA and centromeric DNA were used in FISH for the rye and barley chromosome suspensions, respectively.

Flow karyotypes and chromosomal DNA contents of genus Triticum species and rye (Secale cereale).

The flow cytometry and chromosome imaging method were jointly used for analyzing genome content and chromosomal DNA content of hexaploid wheat (AABBDD), hexaploid triticale (AABBRR), tetraploid wheat (AABB), and AA, BB, DD genome donors and RR genome rye. Their genome sizes were 34.4 pg, 40.