novel activator-type ERF of Thinopyrum intermedium, TiERF1, positively regulates defence responses

• Published in: Journal of experimental botany Vol. 59; no. 11; pp. 3111 - 3120
• Main Authors: Liang, HongXia, Lu, Yan, Liu, HongXia, Wang, FengDe, Xin, ZhiYong, Zhang, ZengYan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01.08.2008; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: acid treatment; Actins; Alternaria; Alternaria - immunology; Alternaria alternata; Amino Acid Sequence; Amino acids; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Blumeria graminis; Cell Nucleus; Cell Nucleus - metabolism; Complementary DNA; Disease resistance; ethylene; Ethylene response factor; Ethylenes; Ethylenes - metabolism; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fusarium graminearum; Gene Expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genes; Genes, Plant; Genes. Genome; genetics; Immunity, Innate; immunology; jasmonic acid; Leaves; metabolism; microbiology; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Nicotiana - microbiology; Nicotiana - physiology; Pathogens; Phenotype; phenotypic change; physiology; Plant Diseases; Plant Diseases - immunology; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Plant Proteins; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plants; Plants, Genetically Modified; Plants, Genetically Modified - metabolism; Poaceae; Poaceae - genetics; Poaceae - immunology; Poaceae - metabolism; protein binding; Research Papers; resistance; Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction; Rhizoctonia cerealis; salicylic acid; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Thinopyrum intermedium; Tobacco; Tobacco mosaic virus; Tobacco Mosaic Virus - immunology; transcription activator; Transcription factors; Transcriptional Activation; Transgenic plants; transgenic tobacco plants; transgenic tobacco plants; transcription activator; Ethylene response factor; phenotypic change; resistance; Monocotyledones; Agropyron intermedium; Transcription; Ethylene; Gramineae; Thinopyrum intermedium; Angiospermae; Spermatophyta; Transgenic plant
• ISSN: 0022-0957; 1460-2431; 1460-2431
• DOI: 10.1093/jxb/ern165

Thinopyrum intermedium is resistant to many different pathogens. To understand the roles of ethylene response factors (ERFs) in defence responses, the first member of the ERF family in T. intermedium, TiERF1, was characterized and functionally analysed in this study. The TiERF1 gene encodes a putative protein of 292 amino acids, belonging to the B3 subgroup of the ERF transcription factor family. Biochemical assays demonstrated that the TiERF1 protein is capable of binding to the GCC box, a cis-element present in the promoters of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes, and possessing transactivation activity, as well as localizing to the nucleus. The transcript of TiERF1 in T. intermedium is rapidly induced by infection with Rhizoctonia cerealis, Fusarium graminearum, or Blumeria graminis, and ethylene, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid treatments. More importantly, the ectopic expression of TiERF1 in tobacco activated the transcript of the PR genes of tobacco with a GCC box cis-element, and ACO and ACS genes key to ethylene synthesis, and in turn improved the resistance level to Alternaria alternata and tobacco mosaic virus, as well as causing some phenotypic changes associated with ethylene response in the transgenic tobacco plants. Taken together, TiERF1 protein as an ERF transcription activator positively regulates defence responses via the activation of some defence-related genes.