The expression analysis of TaMGT genes shows coordinated but differential induction under combined drought and salinity stress, with core members broadly activated and others displaying tissue-specific responses, underscoring their roles in Mg2⁺ homeostasis while cautioning that double-stress specificity remains unverified without single-stress comparisons.
This study provides a systems-level view of posttranscriptional regulation during salt stress in wheat and identifies potential targets for enhancing salt tolerance.
J. Zang, Qian Zhang, Yuyu Zhang et al.· Plant Physiology· 0 citations
Background: Drought tolerance in wheat is a complex trait controlled by multiple regulatory networks, among which calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) act as important components linking stress perception with downstream cellular responses. However, the functional contribution of individual CDPK members to drought adaptation in wheat remains largely unclear. This study aimed to identify and functionally characterize drought-responsive CDPK genes associated with differential drought responses in wheat. Methods: Two wheat lines derived from the same breeding background exhibiting contrasting drought adaption, 23B1 and 23B39, were subjected to PEG6000-induced osmotic stress. Growth traits, osmotic adjustment-related metabolites, membrane damage indicators, and antioxidant enzyme activity were evaluated. Transcriptomic analysis was performed at early drought-response stages, followed by differential expression analysis, functional enrichment, CDPK family screening, and qRT-PCR validation. The role of TaCDPK22-5A was further investigated using barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV)-mediated virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). Results: The drought-responsive line 23B1 maintained stronger growth, accumulated higher levels of proline and soluble sugars, exhibited enhanced peroxidase activity, and showed reduced membrane lipid peroxidation compared with 23B39. Transcriptome analysis revealed extensive transcriptional reprogramming under drought stress, with differentially expressed genes mainly associated with metabolic adjustment, transport regulation, secondary metabolism, and stress-responsive pathways. Among the identified CDPK members, TaCDPK22-5A showed a strong drought-responsive expression pattern in the line exhibiting stronger drought tolerance (23B1). Virus-induced gene silencing of TaCDPK22-5A significantly impaired drought tolerance, resulting in reduced growth, biomass accumulation, and chlorophyll retention under drought conditions. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that TaCDPK22-5A contributes positively to drought adaptation in wheat and highlight CDPK-mediated calcium signaling as an important regulatory component of drought responses. The identified gene provides a potential target for improving drought resilience in wheat breeding.
Bo Liu, Yu Li, Hui-Na Li et al.· Genes· 0 citations
Soil salinization severely limits forage crop productivity, yet the regulatory networks that govern salt stress adaptation in alfalfa, a moderately salt-tolerant leguminous forage, remain largely unexplored. Here, we examined the physiological and transcriptomic dynamics of alfalfa leaves under 200 mM NaCl stress across three time points. Salt stress induced a progressive elevation of the Na+/K+ ratio, biphasic activation of antioxidant enzymes and concurrent accumulation of malondialdehyde. Time-course RNA-seq analysis identified 3631 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 132 core salt-responsive transcription factors (TFs). Pathway and functional annotation analyses indicated that these DEGs were prominently involved in cell wall biogenesis, redox homeostasis, and the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway, with carotenoid accumulation strongly activated under salt stress. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), nine distinct co-expression clusters were constructed. Notably, the brown module, which showed a positive correlation with Na+ accumulation and the Na+/K+ ratio, was significantly enriched in the plant hormone signal transduction pathway, within which 72.7% of the enriched genes belonged to the TIFY family. Among them, a core hub gene, MsTIFY11B, was isolated for functional characterization. Subcellular localization demonstrated that MsTIFY11B is exclusively localized to the nucleus. Heterologous expression in yeast showed that MsTIFY11B overexpression enhanced tolerance to salinity and alkalinity, whereas it conferred negligible protection against mannitol-induced drought stress. Taken together, our findings provide a comprehensive temporal framework of the alfalfa transcriptomic response to salinity and suggest that MsTIFY11B may contribute to salt–alkali tolerance, making it a promising candidate for further functional characterization and potential application in the development of stress-adapted alfalfa varieties.
Lin Cheng, Yan-Feng Liu, Qing-Chun Liu et al.· Plants· 0 citations
It is demonstrated that heterologous expression of TksPLATZ1, TksPLATZ2 and TksPLATZ7 localize to the cell nucleus and act as transcriptional activators and repressors, respectively, which enhances the tolerance of Arabidopsis to salt and osmotic stress.
Jinxian Chen, Wenhao Wu, Ming-Hua Luo et al.· Phytochemistry· 0 citations
The A allele (Hap1) was significantly associated with increased plant height, SPAD value, grain number, nitrogen accumulation, nitrogen accumulation, and biomass under LN stress, suggesting that SORBI_3001G116400 as a candidate gene requiring functional validation and testing in additional genetic backgrounds.
Fangfang Fan, Xiaoqiang Cheng, Yao Wang et al.· Agronomy· 0 citations
Inositol monophosphatase (IMP) is a key enzyme in the inositol signaling pathway and ascorbic acid (AsA) biosynthesis, playing crucial roles in plant growth, development, and abiotic stress responses. Sorghum (
S. bicolor
) is an important cereal crop with remarkable drought and salinity tolerance, yet a systematic analysis of the IMP gene family in sorghum has been lacking. In this study, we identified eight IMP genes (
SbIMP-1–SbIMP-8
) in the sorghum genome. Phylogenetic analysis classified them into six subfamilies, consistent with rice and maize, suggesting a common ancestral origin. Gene structure and motif composition were highly conserved within each subfamily but varied among subfamilies, indicating functional divergence. Synteny analysis revealed strong collinearity between sorghum and maize with mostly one-to-one orthologous relationships, whereas complex one-to-many correspondences were observed with the polyploid
S. spontaneum
, highlighting lineage-specific expansion driven by whole-genome duplication. Promoter cis-element analysis identified numerous stress-related and hormone-responsive elements, including ABRE, DRE, MYB and MYC binding sites. Transcriptome and qRT-PCR analyses under salt (NaCl) and osmotic (PEG) stresses revealed distinct expression patterns:
SbIMP-1
,
SbIMP-3
,
SbIMP-6
,
SbIMP-7
and
SbIMP-8
acted as salt responders. In particular,
SbIMP-4
exhibited a strong salt-specific induction. Promoter enrichment of MYB and MYC binding sites was associated with rapid salt response, whereas the combination of DRE, ABRE and MYB sites in
SbIMP-4
likely underpinned its unique expression profile. This study provides preliminary insights into the expression profiles of SbIMP genes under salt and osmotic stresses, offering a theoretical foundation for molecular breeding aimed at improving abiotic stress response in sorghum and other crops.
Ling Zheng, Xiao-Yu Zhou, Fei Wei et al.· Frontiers in Plant Science· 0 citations
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