4.8 Article

A gain-of-function allele of a DREB transcription factor gene ameliorates drought tolerance in wheat

Journal

PLANT CELL
Volume 34, Issue 11, Pages 4472-4494

Publisher

OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koac248

Keywords

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Funding

  1. National Natural Science Foundation of China [32072002]
  2. National Key R&D Program of China [2021YFD1401000]
  3. Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China [2019JCW-18]

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This study identified a transcription factor gene associated with drought tolerance in wheat through genome-wide association study. It also revealed the mechanism and target genes regulated by the gain-of-function allele of this gene. This discovery provides a valuable genetic resource for wheat breeding programs.
Drought is a major environmental factor limiting wheat production worldwide. However, the genetic components underlying wheat drought tolerance are largely unknown. Here, we identify a DREB transcription factor gene (TaDTG6-B) by genome-wide association study that is tightly associated with drought tolerance in wheat. Candidate gene association analysis revealed that a 26-bp deletion in the TaDTG6-B coding region induces a gain-of-function for TaDTG6-B-Del574, which exhibits stronger transcriptional activation, protein interactions, and binding activity to dehydration-responsive elements (DRE)/CRT cis-elements than the TaDTG6-B-In574 encoded by the allele lacking the deletion, thus conferring greater drought tolerance in wheat seedlings harboring this variant. Knockdown of TaDTG6-B-Del574 transcripts attenuated drought tolerance in transgenic wheat, whereas its overexpression resulted in enhanced drought tolerance without accompanying phenotypic abnormalities. Furthermore, the introgression of the TaDTG6-B-Del574 elite allele into drought-sensitive cultivars improved their drought tolerance, thus providing a valuable genetic resource for wheat breeding. We also identified 268 putative target genes that are directly bound and transcriptionally regulated by TaDTG6-B-Del574. Further analysis showed that TaDTG6-B-Del574 positively regulates TaPIF1 transcription to enhance wheat drought tolerance. These results describe the genetic basis and accompanying mechanism driving phenotypic variation in wheat drought tolerance, and provide a novel genetic resource for crop breeding programs. GWAS identifies a gain-of-function allele of TaDTG6-B, which directly activates TaPIF1 transcription by binding to DRE/CRT cis-elements and ameliorates drought tolerance.

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