Maize ZmBES1/BZR1-5 Decreases ABA Sensitivity and Confers Tolerance to Osmotic Stress in Transgenic <i>Arabidopsis</i>

• Main Authors: Fuai Sun, Haoqiang Yu, Jingtao Qu, Yang Cao, Lei Ding, Wenqi Feng, Muhammad Hayder Bin Khalid, Wanchen Li, Fengling Fu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-02-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: maize; bes1/bzr1; abiotic stress; aba; rna-seq
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/3/996

The BRI1-EMS suppressor 1 (BES1)/brassinazole-resistant 1 (BZR1) transcription factors, key components in the brassinosteroid signaling pathway, play pivotal roles in plant growth and development. However, the function of BES1/BZR1 in crops during stress response remains poorly understood. In the present study, we characterized ZmBES1/BZR1-5 from maize, which was localized to the nucleus and was responsive to abscisic acid (ABA), salt and drought stresses. Heterologous expression of <i>ZmBES1/BZR1-5</i> in transgenic <i>Arabidopsis</i> resulted in decreased ABA sensitivity, facilitated shoot growth and root development, and enhanced salt and drought tolerance with lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content and relative electrolyte leakage (REL) under osmotic stress. The RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis revealed that 84 common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were regulated by ZmBES1/BZR1-5 in transgenic <i>Arabidopsis</i>. Subsequently, gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses showed that the DEGs were enriched in response to stress, secondary metabolism and metabolic pathways. Furthermore, 30 DEGs were assigned to stress response and possessed 2&#8722;15 E-box elements in their promoters, which could be potentially recognized and bound by ZmBES1/BZR1-5. Taken together, our results reveal that the ZmBES1/BZR1-5 transcription factor positively regulates salt and drought tolerance by binding to E-box to induce the expression of downstream stress-related genes. Therefore, our study contributes to the better understanding of BES1/BZR1 function in the stress response of plants.