Short-day potentiation of low temperature-induced gene expression of a C-repeat-binding factor-controlled gene during cold acclimation in silver birch

• Published in: Plant physiology (Bethesda) Vol. 136; no. 4; pp. 4299 - 4307
• Main Authors: Puhakainen, T, Li, C, Boije-Malm, M, Kangasjarvi, J, Heino, P, Palva, E.T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rockville, MD American Society of Plant Biologists 01.12.2004; American Society of Plant Physiologists
• Subjects: abscisic acid; acclimation; Acclimatization; Acclimatization - physiology; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Amino Acid Sequence; amino acid sequences; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Arabidopsis thaliana; Betula - genetics; Betula - metabolism; Betula pendula; Biological and medical sciences; C-repeat binding factor; Classical and quantitative genetics. Population genetics. Molecular genetics; cold; Cold Temperature; dehydration-responsive element; dehydrin; Desiccation; Drought; Environmental Stress and Adaptation; forest trees; Freezing; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene expression; gene expression regulation; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - physiology; Generalities. Genetics. Plant material; Genes; Genes, Plant - physiology; Genetics and breeding of economic plants; Leaves; Molecular genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; nucleotide sequences; Photoperiod; Plant Leaves - metabolism; plant proteins; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plants; Plants, Genetically Modified; promoter regions; RNA; salt stress; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Signal Transduction; transcription factors; transgenic plants; water stress; winter hardiness; Woody plants; Temperature; Cold; Growth; Tolerance; Plant leaf; Photoperiod; Molecular marker; Gene expression; Stress; Salinity; Arabidopsis thaliana; Dehydrin; Gene; Cruciferae; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Abscisic acid; Development; Spermatophyta; Betula pendula; Drought; Betulaceae; Low temperature
• DOI: 10.1104/pp.104.047258
• ISSN: 0032-0889

Development of winter hardiness in trees is a two-stage process involving sequential perception of distinct environmental cues, short-day (SD) photoperiod and low temperature (LT). We have shown that both SD and LT are recognized by leaves of silver birch (Betula pendula cv Roth) leading to increased freezing tolerance, and thus leaves can be used as an experimental model to study the physiological and molecular events taking place during cold acclimation. To obtain a molecular marker for the acclimation process in birch we cloned a gene, designated Bplti36, encoding a 36-kD acidic SK2 type of dehydrin. The gene was responsive to LT, drought, salt, and exogenous abscisic acid. This responsiveness to abiotic stresses and abscisic acid was retained when Bplti36 was introduced to Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The LT induction of the gene appeared to be under the control of the C-repeat-binding factor pathway as suggested by the presence of several C-repeat/dehydration-responsive element/LT-responsive elements in the Bplti36 promoter and its constitutive expression in C-repeat-binding factor overproducing Arabidopsis. In birch SD photoperiod at normal-growth temperature did not result in significant induction of Bplti36. However, preexposure to SD followed by LT treatment resulted in a remarkable increase in Bplti36 transcript accumulation as compared to LT-treated plants grown at long-day photoperiod. This suggests that SD photoperiod potentiates the LT response by conditioning the leaf tissue to be more responsive to the LT stimulus.