Protective functions of alternative splicing transcripts (CdDHN4- L and CdDHN4- S) of CdDHN4 from bermudagrass under multiple abiotic stresses

Di Zhang; Aimin Lv; Tianchen Yang; Xiaoqing Cheng; Enhua Zhao; Peng Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.gene.2020.100033

Protective functions of alternative splicing transcripts (CdDHN4- L and CdDHN4- S) of CdDHN4 from bermudagrass under multiple abiotic stresses

Gene X. 2020 Apr 22:5:100033. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2020.100033. eCollection 2020 Dec.

Authors

Di Zhang^{1

2}, Aimin Lv¹, Tianchen Yang², Xiaoqing Cheng¹, Enhua Zhao¹, Peng Zhou¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
² School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.

Abstract

Dehydrins (DHNs) play critical roles in plant adaptation to abiotic stresses. The objective of this study was to characterize DHNs in bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.). CdDHN4 gene was cloned from bermudagrass 'Tifway'. Two CdDHN4 transcripts were detected due to alternative splicing (the nonspliced CdDHN4-L and the spliced CdDHN4-S) and both the CdDHN4-S and CdDHN4-L proteins are YSK₂-type DHNs, the Φ-segment is present in CdDHN4-L and absent in CdDHN4-S. Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana expressing CdDHN4-L or CdDHN4-S exhibited improved tolerance to salt, osmotic, low temperature and drought stress compared to the wild type (WT). The two transgenic lines did not differ in salt or drought tolerance, while plants expressing CdDHN4-S grew better under osmotic stress than those expressing CdDHN4-L. Both transgenic lines exhibited reduced content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS); and higher antioxidant enzymatic activities than the wild type plants under salt or drought stress. CdDHN4-S exhibited a higher ROS-scavenging capacity than CdDHN4-L.

Keywords: Abiotic stress; Alternative splicing; AsA, ascorbic acid; Bermudagrass; CAT, catalase; DEGs, differentially expressed genes; DHN, Dehydrin; DR, disordered region; Dehydrin; ETR, electron transport rate; GSH, glutathione; IDP, intrinsically disordered protein; LEA proteins, late-embryogenesis abundant proteins; MDA, malondialdehyde; ORF, open reading frame; PAM, pulse-amplitude modulation; POD, peroxidase; ROS; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SOD, superoxide dismutase.