OsASR2 regulates the expression of a defence-related gene, Os2H16, by targeting the GT-1 cis-element

The GT-1 cis-element widely exists in many plant gene promoters. However, the molecular mechanism that underlies the response of the GT-1 cis-element to abiotic and biotic stresses remains elusive in rice. We previously isolated a rice short-chain peptide-encoding gene, Os2H16, and demonstrated that it plays important roles in both disease resistance and drought tolerance. Here, we conducted a promoter assay of Os2H16 and identified GT-1 as an important cis-element that mediates Os2H16 expression in response to pathogen attack and osmotic stress. Using the repeated GT-1 as bait, we characterized an abscisic acid, stress and ripening 2 (ASR2) protein from yeast-one hybridization screening. Sequence alignments showed that the carboxy-terminal domain of OsASR2 containing residues 80-138 was the DNA-binding domain. Furthermore, we identified that OsASR2 was specifically bound to GT-1 and activated the expression of the target gene Os2H16, as well as GFP driven by the chimeric promoter of 2 x GT-1-35S mini construct. Additionally, the expression of OsASR2 was elevated by pathogens and osmotic stress challenges. Overexpression of OsASR2 enhanced the resistance against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and Rhizoctonia solani, and tolerance to drought in rice. These results suggest that the interaction between OsASR2 and GT-1 plays an important role in the crosstalk of the response of rice to biotic and abiotic stresses.