Vol. 87 No: 1

Title:
Isolation and expression profiles of the ZjDREB1 gene encoding a DRE-binding transcription factor from zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica)

Authors:
ZHOU WANG, FANG ZHANG, JIPING XUAN, JUNQIN ZONG and JIANXIU LIU

pp: 77-83

Abstract:
Dehydration-responsive element binding (DREB) proteins that interact specifically with the DRE cis-acting element, have been identified as a group of important transcription factors that regulate the expression of many stress-inducible genes in plants. In this work, a novel DREB gene ortholog, designated ZjDREB1, was isolated from a cold-tolerant zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica) cultivar ‘Meyer’ using RT-PCR and RACE methods. It contained an open reading frame of 774 bp encoding 257 amino acid residues. The deduced protein sequence featured a conserved AP2/ERF DNA-binding domain, a nuclear localisation signal, and an acidic activation region, thereby showing the typical characteristics of the DREB gene family. This is the first report on the isolation of a DREB-like gene in zoysiagrass. Expression profiles of the ZjDREB1 gene in response to cold in three cultivars, ‘Meyer’, ‘Palisades’, and ‘Lanyin 3’ were analysed quantitatively by real-time RT-PCR. The results revealed that ZjDREB1 transcript levels started to rise within 1 h at 4°C, indicating rapid induction by the chilling treatment, and reached a maximum level after 6 h of exposure to low temperature. The level of expression of ZjDREB1 in a cold-tolerant cultivar (‘Meyer’) was higher than that in a cold-susceptible cultivar (‘Lanyin 3’). The level in ‘Palisades’ was intermediate. A decreasing positive temperature resulted in higher levels of accumulation of ZjDREB1 transcripts, with a major increase below 8°C, peaking at 0°C. It was concluded that ZjDREB1 may play a role in the response of zoysiagrass to cold stress.

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