Abstract
An ethylene response-related factor, GbERF1-like,
from Gossypium barbadense cv. '7124' involved in the defence
response to Verticillium dahliae was
characterized. GbERF1-like transcripts
present ubiquitously in various tissues, with higher accumulation in flower
organs. GbERF1-like was also responsive to defence-related
phytohormones and V. dahliae infection.
The downregulation of GbERF1-like increased
the susceptibility of cotton plants to V. dahliae infection,
while overexpression of this gene improved disease resistance in both cotton and Arabidopsis,
coupled with activation of the pathogenesis-related proteins. Further analysis
revealed that genes involved in lignin synthesis, such as PAL, C4H, C3H, HCT, CCoAOMT, CCR and
F5H, showed higher expression levels in the overexpressing cotton and
Arabidopsis lines and lower expression levels in the RNAi cotton lines. The
expression levels of these genes increased obviously when the GbERF1-like-overexpressing
plants were inoculated with V. dahliae. Meanwhile, significant differences in the
content of whole lignin could
be found in the stems of transgenic and wild-type plants after inoculation with
V. dahliae,
as revealed by metabolic and histochemical analysis. More lignin could be detected in GbERF1-like-overexpressing
cotton and Arabidopsis but less inGbERF1-like-silencing
cotton compared with wild-type plants. The ratio of S and G monomers in GbERF1-like-overexpressing
cotton and Arabidopsis increased significantly after infection by V. dahliae.
Moreover, our results showed that the promoters of GhHCT1 and AtPAL3 could be
transactivated by GbERF1-like in
vivo based on yeast one-hybrid assays and dual-luciferase reporter assays.
Knockdown of GhHCT1 in GbERF1-like over-expressing
cotton decreases resistance to
V. dahliae.
Collectively, our results suggest that GbERF1-like acts
as a positive regulator in ligninsynthesis and
contributes substantially to resistance to
V. dahliae in plants.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=An%20Ethylene%20Response-Related%20Factor,%20GbERF1-like,%20from%20Gossypium%20barbadense%20Improves%20Resistance%20to%20Verticillium%20dahliae%20via%20Activating%20Lignin%20Synthesis#
DOI
10.1007/s11103-016-0467-6（IF=4.3）
PMID:
26971283