Soil salinization is a major abiotic stress limiting plant growth and crop productivity. MYB transcription factors play central roles in plant stress responses. Here, we investigated NtMYB78 using overexpression (OE) and knockout (KO) lines. Expression analysis revealed that NtMYB78 is strongly induced by salt stress. Phenotypic evaluation revealed that OE lines exhibited enhanced germination, biomass accumulation, and survival under salinity, whereas KO lines were highly sensitive. Physiological analyses indicated that NtMYB78 mitigates membrane damage and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, facilitated osmotic adjustment, protects the photosynthetic apparatus, and maintains Na+/K+ homeostasis. Further, transcriptomic profiling revealed that NtMYB78 orchestrates broad transcriptional reprogramming, regulating genes involved in stress defense, photosynthesis, ion transport, and phenylpropanoid metabolism. Molecular analyses using yeast one-hybrid, EMSA, and dual-luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that NtMYB78 binds to and activates the NtHCT promoter, while lignin measurements showed genotype dependent changes in lignin accumulation under salt stress. Together, these findings identify NtMYB78 as a positive regulator of salt tolerance that integrates stress responsive transcriptional reprogramming with physiological protection and modulation of lignin deposition. This gene represents a significant target for the development of salt tolerant tobacco varieties and offers a promising genetic resource for improving salt tolerance in other crop species.
Jia-Yan Lin, Hao Chen, Wen-Cai Li et al.· Plant physiology and biochem...· 0 citations
Drought stress severely restricts global rice production, making the improvement of drought tolerance a central goal in rice breeding. Here, we identify the rice FCS-like zinc finger protein 20 (OsFLZ20) as a previously unrecognized client of the 14-3-3 protein OsGF14f, a recently characterized and promising target for engineering drought-tolerant rice cultivars. OsFLZ20 transcription is rapidly and robustly induced by drought, and transgenic analyses show that it does not affect normal growth or yield but instead acts as a positive regulator of drought tolerance by increasing soluble sugar accumulation and alleviating oxidative damage. OsGF14f and OsFLZ20 co-regulate a broad suite of drought-responsive genes, with OsGF14f serving as a positive modulator of OsFLZ20-driven transcriptional reprogramming. Mechanistically, OsGF14f interacts with OsFLZ20 at Ser-64 and increases its protein abundance. In parallel, the OsGF14f-OsbZIP23 module enhances the transcriptional activation of OsFLZ20 under drought stress. Further genetic analyses reveal that full OsFLZ20 function in drought tolerance requires a functional OsGF14f, whereas loss of OsFLZ20 compromises the drought tolerance conferred by OsGF14f, indicating mutual interdependence of these two regulators within the drought response network. Collectively, these findings establish the OsGF14f-OsbZIP23-OsFLZ20 module as a previously unrecognized determinant of rice drought tolerance and provide valuable genetic resources and molecular insights for crop improvement under water-limited conditions.
Qing Liu, Fu-Jun Wang, Ke Ding et al.· Plant Communications· 0 citations
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