Overexpression of <i>AgDREBA6b</i> Gene Significantly Increases Heat Tolerance in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>
The APETALA2/ethylene response factor (AP2/ERF) is a class of plant-specific transcription factors, among which the dehydration-responsive element-binding protein (DREB) subfamily has been widely reported to enhance plant resistance to abiotic stresses. A high-temperature-related gene, <i>Apiu...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/7/1565 |
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| Summary: | The APETALA2/ethylene response factor (AP2/ERF) is a class of plant-specific transcription factors, among which the dehydration-responsive element-binding protein (DREB) subfamily has been widely reported to enhance plant resistance to abiotic stresses. A high-temperature-related gene, <i>Apium graveolens DREBA6b</i> (<i>AgDREBA6b</i>; accession number: OR727346), was previously cloned from a heat-tolerant celery variety. In this study, we transformed this gene into <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> using an Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated method to explore its function. The results showed that overexpressing <i>AgDREBA6b</i> in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> significantly improved plant growth under high-temperature stress (38 °C) compared to the <i>dreb</i> mutant and wild-type (WT) plants. The anatomical structure of the leaves revealed that the number and degree of stomatal openings in the overexpressed plants were significantly higher than those in the WT and <i>dreb</i> plants, suggesting that <i>AgDREBA6b</i> enhances stomatal opening. Additionally, the chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence properties, proline (Pro), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD) activities were higher in the transgenic plants, indicating better stress tolerance. qPCR analysis showed that four heat tolerance-related genes (<i>AtHSP98.7</i>, <i>AtHSP70-1</i>, <i>AtAPX1</i>, and <i>AtGOLS1</i>) were upregulated in the transgenic plants, with higher expression levels than in WT and mutant plants. This study provides valuable genetic resources for understanding the molecular mechanisms of celery’s heat tolerance and offers insights for breeding heat-tolerant celery varieties. |
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| ISSN: | 2073-4395 |