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LeERF1 improves tolerance to drought stress in tomato (<i>Lycopersicon esculentum</i>) and activates downstream stress-responsive genes


C Lu
Y Li
A Chen
L Li
J Zuo
H Tian
Y Luo
B Zhu

Abstract

Ethylene responsive factors (ERFs) are important transcriptional regulators involved in plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. In this study, the function of the LeERF1 gene in sense- and antisense- LeERF1 transgenic tomato plants was analyzed. The results demonstrated that overexpression of LeERF1 in tomato plants enhanced tolerance to drought stress. The LeERF1-overexpressing transgenic plants maintained higher relative water content (RWC), free proline and soluble sugar levels, and showed lower malondialdehyde (MDA) level and electrolyte leakage under drought stress, compared with wild-type and antisense-LeERF1 tomato plants. Furthermore, overexpression of LeERF1 in tomato plants activated the expression of stress-related genes, including P5CS, LEA, ltpg2 and tdi-65. These results suggested that LeERF1 played a positive role in tolerance to drought stress.

Key words: LeERF1, drought tolerance, transcription factor, transgenic tomato.


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eISSN: 1684-5315