On Nov 3rd, research team from State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation and Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding published a groundbreaking research paper titled "Wheat TaPYL9-involved signalling pathway impacts plant drought response through regulating distinct osmotic stress-associated physiological indices" in the journal "Plant Biotechnology Journal" (impact factor: 10.1).
The abscisic acid (ABA) signalling pathway plays a crucial role in plants' response to drought stress. This study focused on characterizing the impact of an ABA signalling module involving TaPYL9 and its downstream partners in wheat (Triticum aestivum). Researchers found that the TaPYL9 protein, which contains conserved motifs, targets both the plasma membrane and the nucleus and is significantly upregulated in roots and leaves under drought conditions.
Promoter analysis indicated that cis-elements associated with ABA and drought response regulate gene transcription under drought conditions. Through various protein interaction assays, the study demonstrated interactions between TaPYL9, TaPP2C6, TaSnRK2.8, and TabZIP1, forming an ABA signalling module. This module plays a vital role in regulating drought response by affecting stomata movement, osmolyte accumulation, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis.
Further analysis revealed that TaPYL9, TaSnRK2.8, and TabZIP1 positively regulate drought response, whereas TaPP2C6 negatively regulates it. EMSA and transcriptional activation assays showed that TabZIP1 interacts with the promoters of TaP5CS2, TaSLAC1-1, and TaCAT2, activating their transcription. These genes are involved in proline biosynthesis, stomata movement, and ROS scavenging upon drought signalling, respectively.
Field studies demonstrated a positive correlation between the transcripts of TaPYL9 and stress-responsive genes and the yields in wheat cultivars under drought conditions. Overall, the findings suggest that the TaPYL9-involved signalling pathway significantly regulates drought response by modulating osmotic stress-associated physiological processes in T. aestivum.
In conjunction with the research study, the biotin-labelled probes for promoters of TaP5CS2, TaSLAC1-1 and TaCAT2 harbouring distinct drought and ABA responsive elements (DRE and ABRE) (Table S2) were synthesized by SBS Genetech. Since 2000, SBS Genetech has been at the forefront of providing solutions in life sciences. We offer safer, superior quality, and more cost-effective products to preeminent researchers in more than 60 countries, empowering them to make new discoveries in biology. Our products have been widely utilized in academic research, with results often published in leading academic journals like Science, Cell, Cancer Cell, and Cell Metabolism. We firmly believe that through continuous innovation and research, we will continually infuse new vitality and possibilities into the field of life sciences.