Genomic Analysis of Stress Associated Proteins in Soybean and the Role of GmSAP16 in Abiotic Stress Responses in Arabidopsis and Soybean

Abstract

Stress associated proteins (SAPs) containing A20/AN1 zinc finger domains have emerged as novel regulators of stress responses. In this study, 27 SAP genes were identified in soybean. The phylogenetic relationships, exon–intron structure, domain structure, chromosomal localization, putative cis-acting elements, and expression patterns of SAPs in various tissues under abiotic stresses were analyzed. Among the soybean SAP genes, GmSAP16 was significantly induced by water deficit stress, salt, and abscisic acid (ABA) and selected for further analysis. GmSAP16 was located in the nucleus and cytoplasm. The overexpression of GmSAP16 in Arabidopsis improved drought and salt tolerance at different developmental stages and increased ABA sensitivity, as indicated by delayed seed germination and stomatal closure. The GmSAP16 transgenic Arabidopsis plants had a higher proline content and a lower water loss rate and malondialdehyde (MDA) content than wild type (WT) plants in response to stresses. The overexpression of GmSAP16 in soybean hairy roots enhanced drought and salt tolerance of soybean seedlings, with higher proline and chlorophyll contents and a lower MDA content than WT. RNA inference (RNAi) of GmSAP16 increased stress sensitivity. Stress-related genes, including GmDREB1B;1, GmNCED3, GmRD22, GmDREB2, GmNHX1, and GmSOS1, showed significant expression alterations in GmSAP16-overexpressing and RNAi plants under stress treatments. These results indicate that soybean SAP genes play important roles in abiotic stress responses.

Genome-Wide Analysis of the GRAS Gene Family and Functional Identification of GmGRAS37 in Drought and Salt Tolerance

“…The seeds were cultivated for 15 days in pots containing mixed soil (1:1 vermiculite/humus). For drought treatment, the soybean seedlings were placed on filter paper for 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h. For the NaCl, ABA, and BR treatments, the soybean seedlings were immersed in 250 mM NaCl, 100 μM ABA, and 150 μM BR solution, respectively, for 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h. After treatment, leaves were submerged immediately in liquid nitrogen and then stored at −80°C for further analysis (Zhang et al, 2019).…”

GmNFYA13 Improves Salt and Drought Tolerance in Transgenic Soybean Plants

“…To investigate how GmNFYA13 functioned in salt/drought tolerance in transgenic soybean plants, three salt-related genes (GmSALT3, GmSOS1, and GmNHX1) (Guan et al, 2014;, one key gene involved in ABA synthesis (GmNCED3) (Zhang X. Z. et al, 2019), three drought-responsive genes (GmDREB1, GmWRKY46 and GmMYB84) (Chen et al, 2007;Luo et al, 2013;Wang N. et al, 2017;Ma et al, 2020), and one gene, GmRbohB, related to oxidative stress (Wang N. et al, 2017), were selected for further analysis.…”

Overexpression of GmUBC9 Gene Enhances Plant Drought Resistance and Affects Flowering Time via Histone H2B Monoubiquitination

“…Briefly, drought stress was induced as above (6-8 days with normal watering, followed by the withholding of water for 6 days), after which GmUBC9-OE and CK seedlings were collected. A previously described approach (Du et al, 2018;Zhang et al, 2019) was used to assess MDA levels. Briefly,~0.1 g of leaf tissue from four plants were collected, with optical density (OD) at 532 and 600 nm being recorded and used to calculate MDA levels as follows: MDA content (nmol/g FW) = 51.6×(OD 532 -OD 600 )/0.1.…”

“…A Varioskan LUX Multimode Microplate Reader (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA) was used for measuring OD values. Three samples of a single transgenic line (n=4) of the same genotype were sampled at the same location (Zhang et al, 2019).…”