Pear-derived findings: a genetic mechanism newswise

Newswise – Drought has significant impacts on agricultural productivity and plant survival. Traditional methods of improving drought resistance, such as selective breeding and genetic modification, have had limited success. Therefore, it is important to identify genetic components that enhance drought tolerance. Research has shown that understanding and manipulating these genetic factors can lead to the development of more resilient crops. Due to these challenges, there is an urgent need to delve deeper into the genetic mechanisms of drought resistance to develop effective solutions for sustainable agriculture.

A team of scientists from the College of Horticulture at Nanjing Agricultural University has published a Study (DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhae090) On March 30, 2024, in horticultural research, The research focused on the transcription factor PbERF3 from wild pear, which demonstrated its role in enhancing drought resistance by interacting with another protein, PbHsfC1a. This interaction regulates the expression of genes involved in hydrogen peroxide transport and abscisic acid biosynthesis, which is important for drought tolerance.

Study shows that overexpression of PbERF3 in pear callus and Arabidopsis enhances drought resistance by restoring redox balance and activating key drought stress pathways. PbERF3 interacts with PbHsfC1a, forming a heterodimer that binds to the promoters of PbPIP1;4 and PbNCED4, which are essential for hydrogen peroxide transport and abscisic acid biosynthesis. This interaction activates important signaling pathways that improve drought tolerance. Silencing of PbERF3 reduced drought resistance, underscoring its important role in the stress response. Additionally, research shows that PbERF3 directly stimulates the transcription of PbPIP1;4, increasing the plant’s ability to manage oxidative stress. These findings reveal a new regulatory module that plants use to cope with drought stress, providing insight into developing genetically modified crops with improved drought resistance.

Corresponding author Dr. Xiaosan Huang said, “Our findings reveal an important regulatory network that wild pears use to cope with drought stress. Understanding this mechanism opens up new possibilities for engineering drought-resistant crops , which is important in view of increasing climate variability.”

The discovery provides a basis for developing genetically modified crops with greater tolerance to drought, potentially improving agricultural resilience. By taking advantage of the PbERF3-PbHsfC1a regulatory module, scientists can create plants better equipped to withstand drought conditions, ensuring food security and sustainable agricultural practices in arid regions.

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Reference

DOI

10.1093/hour/uhae090

original source url

https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae090

Funding Information

This work is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFD1000102), the Key Research and Development Program of Jiangsu Province (BE2023328), the National Science Foundation of China (32072538), Jiangsu Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Fund. (CX(22)3046), and the Postgraduate Research and Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu (KYCX23_0795).

About this horticultural research

horticultural research is an open access journal of Nanjing Agricultural University and ranked number one in the Horticulture category of the Journal Citation Report™ from Clarivate, 2022. The journal is committed to publishing original research articles, reviews, viewpoints, commentaries, correspondence articles and letters. Editors deal with all major horticultural plants and topics, including biotechnology, breeding, cellular and molecular biology, evolution, genetics, inter-species interactions, physiology and the origin and domestication of crops.