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A grape bHLH transcription factor gene, VvbHLH1, increases the accumulation of flavonoids and enhances salt and drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana

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Abstract

In plants, transcriptional regulation is the most important tool for modulating flavonoid biosynthesis. The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors are only one example how then flavonoid pathway is regulated. There are other transcription factors as well. In this study, the codon-optimized VvbHLH1 gene from grape was chemically synthesized. Overexpression of VvbHLH1 significantly increased the accumulation of flavonoids and enhanced salt and drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis showed that overexpression of VvbHLH1 resulted in the up-regulation of genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway, proline biosynthesis, stress responses and ROS scavenging under salt and drought stresses. Further analyses under salt and drought stresses showed significant increases of ABA and proline content, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities, as well as significant reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malonaldehyde content. The results demonstrate the explicit role of VvbHLH1 in conferring salt and drought tolerance by increasing the accumulation of flavonoids and ABA signalling in transgenic A. thaliana. The VvbHLH1 gene has the potential to be used to increase the content of valuable flavonoids and improve the tolerance to abiotic stresses in A. thaliana and other plants.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

bHLH:

Basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

ORF:

Open reading frame

PEG:

Polyethylene glycol

POD:

Peroxidase

PTDS:

PCR-based two-step DNA synthesis

qRT-PCR:

Real-time quantitative PCR

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Key Project Fund of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of Agriculture (zhongzi2014-2) and National Natural Science Foundation (31200076).

Author contribution

Conceived and designed the experiments: QHY FBW. Performed the experiments: FBW DHC HZ RHP. Analyzed the data: FBW DHC HZ. Wrote the paper: FBW QHY.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetic Breeding, Biotech Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, 201106, China

      Feibing Wang, Zhenjun Li, Rihe Peng & Quanhong Yao

    2. Bei**g Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement/Laboratory of Crop Heterosis and Utilization, Ministry of Education, China Agricultural University, Bei**g, 100193, China

      Hong Zhu

    3. Shanghai Agrobiological Gene Center, Shanghai, 201106, China

      Dahu Chen

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    1. Feibing Wang
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    2. Hong Zhu
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    3. Dahu Chen
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    Correspondence to Quanhong Yao.

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    Feibing Wang and Hong Zhu have contributed equally to this work.

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    Wang, F., Zhu, H., Chen, D. et al. A grape bHLH transcription factor gene, VvbHLH1, increases the accumulation of flavonoids and enhances salt and drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana . Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 125, 387–398 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-016-0953-1

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