Expression analysis and functional characterization of a cold-responsive gene COR15A from Arabidopsis thaliana

The cold-responsive (COR) genes play an important role in cold acclimation of higher plants. Here, a tight correlation between chloroplast functionality and COR15A expression, and the functional characterization of Arabidopsis COR15A involved in salt/osmotic stress, were revealed. COR15A gene is light inducible and expressed in light-grown seedlings. The expression level of COR15A was reduced when chloroplasts were damaged by norflurazon treatment. By using several albino mutants, seca1, secy1, and tic20, all of which exhibited severe defects in both structure and function of chloroplast, it was shown that the accumulation of COR15A mRNA depends on chloroplast functionality. Real-time RT-PCR and GUS-staining assays demonstrated that COR15A was induced by salt/osmotic stress partially via ABA. Overexpression of COR15A in Arabidopsis resulted in the seedlings displaying hypersensitivity to salt/osmotic stress. All these results suggest that plant acquire the ability to fully express COR15A only after the development of functional chloroplasts, COR15A may be involved in response to salt/osmotic stress during early stages of plant development.