Background: A wide range of stimuli evoke rapid and transient increases in [Ca 2+ ] cyt in plant cells which are transmitted by protein sensors that contain EF-hand motifs. Here, a group of Oryza sativa L. genes encoding calmodulin (CaM) and CaM-like (CML) proteins that do not possess functional domains other than the Ca 2+ -binding EF-hand motifs was analyzed.
BackgroundSalt stress, a major plant environmental stress, is a critical constraint for rice productivity. Dissecting the genetic loci controlling salt tolerance in rice for improving productivity, especially at the flowering stage, remains challenging. Here, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of salt tolerance based on exome sequencing of the Thai rice accessions.ResultsPhotosynthetic parameters and cell membrane stability under salt stress at the flowering stage; and yield-related traits of 104 Thai rice (Oryza sativa L.) accessions belonging to the indica subspecies were evaluated. The rice accessions were subjected to exome sequencing, resulting in 112,565 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) called with a minor allele frequency of at least 5%. LD decay analysis of the panel indicates that the average LD for SNPs at 20 kb distance from each other was 0.34 (r2), which decayed to its half value (~ 0.17) at around 80 kb. By GWAS performed using mixed linear model, two hundred loci containing 448 SNPs on exons were identified based on the salt susceptibility index of the net photosynthetic rate at day 6 after salt stress; and the number of panicles, filled grains and unfilled grains per plant. One hundred and forty six genes, which accounted for 73% of the identified loci, co-localized with the previously reported salt quantitative trait loci (QTLs). The top four regions that contained a high number of significant SNPs were found on chromosome 8, 12, 1 and 2. While many are novel, their annotation is consistent with potential involvement in plant salt tolerance and in related agronomic traits. These significant SNPs greatly help narrow down the region within these QTLs where the likely underlying candidate genes can be identified.ConclusionsInsight into the contribution of potential genes controlling salt tolerance from this GWAS provides further understanding of salt tolerance mechanisms of rice at the flowering stage, which can help improve yield productivity under salinity via gene cloning and genomic selection.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-5317-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Calcium (Ca2+) ion is a critical ubiquitous intracellular second messenger, acting as a lead currency for several distinct signal transduction pathways. Transient perturbations in free cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]cyt) concentrations are indispensable for the translation of signals into adaptive biological responses. The transient increase in [Ca2+]cyt levels is sensed by an array of Ca2+ sensor relay proteins such as calmodulin (CaM), eventually leading to conformational changes and activation of CaM. CaM, in a Ca2+-dependent manner, regulates several transcription factors (TFs) that are implicated in various molecular, physiological, and biochemical functions in cells. CAMTA (calmodulin-binding transcription activator) is one such member of the Ca2+-loaded CaM-dependent family of TFs. The present review focuses on Ca2+ as a second messenger, its interaction with CaM, and Ca2+/CaM-mediated CAMTA transcriptional regulation in plants. The review recapitulates the molecular and physiological functions of CAMTA in model plants and various crops, confirming its probable involvement in stress signaling pathways and overall plant development. Studying Ca2+/CaM-mediated CAMTA TF will help in answering key questions concerning signaling cascades and molecular regulation under stress conditions and plant growth, thus improving our knowledge for crop improvement.
BackgroundCalmodulin (CaM) is an important calcium sensor protein that transduces Ca2+ signals in plant stress signaling pathways. A previous study has revealed that transgenic rice over-expressing the calmodulin gene OsCam1–1 (LOC_Os03g20370) is more tolerant to salt stress than wild type. To elucidate the role of OsCam1–1 in the salt stress response mechanism, downstream components of the OsCam1–1-mediated response were identified and investigated by transcriptome profiling and target identification.ResultsTranscriptome profiling of transgenic ‘Khao Dawk Mali 105’ rice over-expressing OsCam1–1 and wild type rice showed that overexpression of OsCam1–1 widely affected the expression of genes involved in several cellular processes under salt stress, including signaling, hormone-mediated regulation, transcription, lipid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, secondary metabolism, photosynthesis, glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and glyoxylate cycle. Under salt stress, the photosynthesis rate in the transgenic rice was slightly lower than in wild type, while sucrose and starch contents were higher, suggesting that energy and carbon metabolism were affected by OsCam1–1 overexpression. Additionally, four known and six novel CaM-interacting proteins were identified by cDNA expression library screening with the recombinant OsCaM1. GO terms enriched in their associated proteins that matched those of the differentially expressed genes affected by OsCam1–1 overexpression revealed various downstream cellular processes that could potentially be regulated by OsCaM1 through their actions.ConclusionsThe diverse cellular processes affected by OsCam1–1 overexpression and possessed by the identified CaM1-interacting proteins corroborate the notion that CaM signal transduction pathways compose a complex network of downstream components involved in several cellular processes. These findings suggest that under salt stress, CaM activity elevates metabolic enzymes involved in central energy pathways, which promote or at least maintain the production of energy under the limitation of photosynthesis.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12870-018-1538-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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