Over-expression of OsDREB genes lead to enhanced drought tolerance in rice.

The DREB transcription factors, which specifically interact with C-repeat/DRE (A/GCCGAC), play an important role in plant abiotic stress tolerance by controlling the expression of many cold or/and drought-inducible genes in an ABA-independent pathway. We have isolated three novel rice DREB genes, OsDREB1E, OsDREB1G, and OsDREB2B, which are homologous to Arabidopsis DREB genes. The yeast one-hybrid assay indicated that OsDREB1E, OsDREB1G, and OsDREB2B can specifically bind to the C-repeat/DRE element.