Removal of the C4-domain preserves the drought tolerance enhanced by CsMYB4a and eliminates the negative impact of this transcription factor on plant growth  

作　　者：Mingzhuo Li Guoliang Ma Xiu Li Lili Guo Yanzhi Li Yajun Liu Wenzhao Wang Xiaolan Jiang De-Yu Xie Liping Gao Tao Xia 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biochemistry and Utilization,Anhui Agricultural University,Hefei 230036,China [2]School of Life Science,Anhui Agricultural University,Hefei 230036,China [3]Department of Plant and Microbial Biology,North Carolina State University,Raleigh,NC,USA [4]College of Horticulture,Northwest AF University,Yangling 712100,China

出　　处：《aBIOTECH》2024年第3期368-374,共7页生物技术通报（英文版）

基　　金：Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.32372756,No 32072621);the National Science Basic Research Program of Shanxi(2022JQ-194)for supporting this research.

摘　　要：The MYB4 transcription factor family regulates plant traits.However,their overexpression often results in undesirable side effects like growth reduction.We have reported a green tea(Camellia sinensis)MYB4 transcription factor(CsMYB4)that represses the phenylpropanoid and shikimate pathways and stunts plant growth and development.In the current study,we observed that in CsMYB4a transgenic tobacco(Nicotiana tabacum)plants,primary metabolism was altered,including sugar and amino acid metabolism,which demonstrated a pleiotropic regulation by CsMYB4a.The CsMYB4a transgenic tobacco plants had improved drought tolerance,which correlated to alterations in carbohydrate metabolism and an increase in proline content,as revealed by metabolic profiling and transcriptomic analysis.To mitigate the undesirable repressive side effects on plant traits,including dwarfism,shrunken leaves,and shorter roots of CsMYB4a transgenic plants,we deleted the C4 domain of CsMYB4a to obtain a CsMYB4a-DC4 variant and then overexpressed it in transgenic plants(CsMYB4a-DC4).These CsMYB4a-DC4 plants displayed a normal growth and had improved drought tolerance.Metabolite analysis demonstrated that the contents of carbohydrates and proline were increased in these transgenic plants.Our findings suggest that an approriate modification of TFs can generate novel crop traits,thus providing potential agricultural benefits and expanding its application to various crops.

关 键 词：Tea MYB4 repressor Development Carbohydrate metabolism Drought stress C4-domain 

分 类 号：Q94[生物学—植物学]