Identification and functional characterization of JrbZIP40 in walnut reveals its role in salt and drought stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings

Abstract Background Salt and drought are the primary environmental stress factors that severely threaten plant growth, development, and yield. bZIP transcription factors reportedly play crucial roles in plant responses to both biotic and abiotic stressors. However, the biological function of bZIP tr...

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Main Authors: Jinyu Wei, Chang Jiao, Xi-Yu Li, Xuemin Li, Xin-Yi Zhang, Yongxu Wang, Yang Song, Kaiyu Yang, Yushi Liu, Jingran Zhang, Mengyao Liu, Yi-Lin Liang, Xinyue Wang, Han Li, Peng Jia, Xuemei Zhang, Guohui Qi, Qinglong Dong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BMC Plant Biology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06928-6
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author Jinyu Wei
Chang Jiao
Xi-Yu Li
Xuemin Li
Xin-Yi Zhang
Yongxu Wang
Yang Song
Kaiyu Yang
Yushi Liu
Jingran Zhang
Mengyao Liu
Yi-Lin Liang
Xinyue Wang
Han Li
Peng Jia
Xuemei Zhang
Guohui Qi
Qinglong Dong
author_facet Jinyu Wei
Chang Jiao
Xi-Yu Li
Xuemin Li
Xin-Yi Zhang
Yongxu Wang
Yang Song
Kaiyu Yang
Yushi Liu
Jingran Zhang
Mengyao Liu
Yi-Lin Liang
Xinyue Wang
Han Li
Peng Jia
Xuemei Zhang
Guohui Qi
Qinglong Dong
author_sort Jinyu Wei
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Salt and drought are the primary environmental stress factors that severely threaten plant growth, development, and yield. bZIP transcription factors reportedly play crucial roles in plant responses to both biotic and abiotic stressors. However, the biological function of bZIP transcription factors in oil crops, particularly walnuts, under salt and drought stress remains unclear. Results In this study, members of the walnut bZIP gene family were identified based on the walnut genome Chandler 2.0. Transcriptome data and RT-qPCR results were used to analyze the expression patterns of various JrbZIP genes under biotic and abiotic stress, revealing that JrbZIP40 was strongly induced by both drought and salt stress. Subcellular localization and transcriptional activation assays demonstrated that JrbZIP40 localized to the nucleus and exhibited transcriptional activation activity. Overexpression of JrbZIP40 in transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings significantly enhanced resistance to salt and drought stress. DAP-seq and Dual-luciferase results indicated that JrbZIP40 may bind to the JrHB7 and JrATG8G promoters and activate their expression, contributing to stress resistance. Conclusions Overall, this study elucidates the regulatory network and biological functions of JrbZIP40 in drought and salt tolerance, providing a theoretical foundation and candidate gene resources for the future use of genetic engineering to improve walnut stress resistance.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1471-2229
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
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series BMC Plant Biology
spelling doaj-art-b3d6b91004974ceb8544de6b577e086d2025-08-20T03:45:19ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292025-07-0125111410.1186/s12870-025-06928-6Identification and functional characterization of JrbZIP40 in walnut reveals its role in salt and drought stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis seedlingsJinyu Wei0Chang Jiao1Xi-Yu Li2Xuemin Li3Xin-Yi Zhang4Yongxu Wang5Yang Song6Kaiyu Yang7Yushi Liu8Jingran Zhang9Mengyao Liu10Yi-Lin Liang11Xinyue Wang12Han Li13Peng Jia14Xuemei Zhang15Guohui Qi16Qinglong Dong17College of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityCollege of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural UniversityAbstract Background Salt and drought are the primary environmental stress factors that severely threaten plant growth, development, and yield. bZIP transcription factors reportedly play crucial roles in plant responses to both biotic and abiotic stressors. However, the biological function of bZIP transcription factors in oil crops, particularly walnuts, under salt and drought stress remains unclear. Results In this study, members of the walnut bZIP gene family were identified based on the walnut genome Chandler 2.0. Transcriptome data and RT-qPCR results were used to analyze the expression patterns of various JrbZIP genes under biotic and abiotic stress, revealing that JrbZIP40 was strongly induced by both drought and salt stress. Subcellular localization and transcriptional activation assays demonstrated that JrbZIP40 localized to the nucleus and exhibited transcriptional activation activity. Overexpression of JrbZIP40 in transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings significantly enhanced resistance to salt and drought stress. DAP-seq and Dual-luciferase results indicated that JrbZIP40 may bind to the JrHB7 and JrATG8G promoters and activate their expression, contributing to stress resistance. Conclusions Overall, this study elucidates the regulatory network and biological functions of JrbZIP40 in drought and salt tolerance, providing a theoretical foundation and candidate gene resources for the future use of genetic engineering to improve walnut stress resistance.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06928-6bZIP transcription factorSalt stressDrought stressJuglans regiaFunctional characterization
spellingShingle Jinyu Wei
Chang Jiao
Xi-Yu Li
Xuemin Li
Xin-Yi Zhang
Yongxu Wang
Yang Song
Kaiyu Yang
Yushi Liu
Jingran Zhang
Mengyao Liu
Yi-Lin Liang
Xinyue Wang
Han Li
Peng Jia
Xuemei Zhang
Guohui Qi
Qinglong Dong
Identification and functional characterization of JrbZIP40 in walnut reveals its role in salt and drought stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings
BMC Plant Biology
bZIP transcription factor
Salt stress
Drought stress
Juglans regia
Functional characterization
title Identification and functional characterization of JrbZIP40 in walnut reveals its role in salt and drought stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings
title_full Identification and functional characterization of JrbZIP40 in walnut reveals its role in salt and drought stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings
title_fullStr Identification and functional characterization of JrbZIP40 in walnut reveals its role in salt and drought stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings
title_full_unstemmed Identification and functional characterization of JrbZIP40 in walnut reveals its role in salt and drought stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings
title_short Identification and functional characterization of JrbZIP40 in walnut reveals its role in salt and drought stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings
title_sort identification and functional characterization of jrbzip40 in walnut reveals its role in salt and drought stress tolerance in transgenic arabidopsis seedlings
topic bZIP transcription factor
Salt stress
Drought stress
Juglans regia
Functional characterization
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06928-6
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