Ectopic expression of UGT75D1, a glycosyltransferase preferring indole-3-butyric acid, modulates cotyledon development and stress tolerance in seed germination of Arabidopsis thaliana

The formation of auxin glucose conjugate is proposed to be one of the molecular modifications controlling auxin homeostasis. However, the involved mechanisms and relevant physiological significances are largely unknown or poorly understood. In this study, Arabidopsis UGT75D1 was at the first time identified to be an indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) preferring glycosyltransferase. Assessment of enzyme activity and IBA conjugates in transgenic plants ectopically expressing UGT75D1 indicated that the UGT75D1 catalytic specificity was maintained in planta. It was found that the expression pattern of UGT75D1 was specific in germinating seeds. Consistently, we found that transgenic seedlings with over-produced UGT75D1 exhibited smaller cotyledons and cotyledon epidermal cells than the wild type. In addition, UGT75D1 was found to be up-regulated under mannitol, salt and ABA treatments and the over-expression lines were tolerant to osmotic and salt stresses during germination, resulting in an increased germination rate. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the mRNA levels of ABA INSENSITIVE 3 (ABI3) and ABI5 gene in ABA signaling were substantially down-regulated in the transgenic lines under stress treatments. Interestingly, AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 16 (ARF16) gene of transgenic lines was also dramatically down-regulated under the same stress conditions. Since ARF16 functions as an activator of ABI3 transcription, we supposed that UGT75D1 might play a role in stress tolerance during germination through modulating ARF16-ABI3 signaling. Taken together, our work indicated that, serving as the IBA preferring glycosyltransferase but distinct from other auxin glycosyltransferases identified so far, UGT75D1 might be a very important player mediating a crosstalk between cotyledon development and stress tolerance of germination at the early stage of plant growth.