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Functional Plant Biology Functional Plant Biology Society
Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Overexpression of TaMPK3 enhances freezing tolerance by increasing the expression of ICE-CBF-COR related genes in the Arabidopsis thaliana

Rui Wang A # , Mengmeng Yu A # , Xin Zhao A # , Jingqiu Xia A , Jing Cang A and Da Zhang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8442-2363 A *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A College of Life Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China.

* Correspondence to: zhangda@neau.edu.cn

Handling Editor: Rosa Rivero

Functional Plant Biology 51, FP23144 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP23144
Submitted: 10 July 2023  Accepted: 5 April 2024  Published: 26 April 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play important roles in plant stress response. As a major member of the MAPK family, MPK3 has been reported to participate in the regulation of chilling stress. However, the regulatory function of wheat (Triticum aestivum) mitogen-activated protein kinase TaMPK3 in freezing tolerance remains unknown. Dongnongdongmai No.1 (Dn1) is a winter wheat variety with strong freezing tolerance; therefore, it is important to explore the mechanisms underlying this tolerance. In this study, the expression of TaMPK3 in Dn1 was detected under low temperature and hormone treatment. Gene cloning, bioinformatics and subcellular localisation analyses of TaMPK3 in Dn1 were performed. Overexpressed TaMPK3 in Arabidopsis thaliana was obtained, and freezing tolerance phenotype observations, physiological indices and expression levels of ICE-C-repeat binding factor (CBF)-COR-related genes were determined. In addition, the interaction between TaMPK3 and TaICE41 proteins was detected. We found that TaMPK3 expression responds to low temperatures and hormones, and the TaMPK3 protein is localised in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Overexpression of TaMPK3 in Arabidopsis significantly improves freezing tolerance. TaMPK3 interacts with the TaICE41 protein. In conclusion, TaMPK3 is involved in regulating the ICE-CBF-COR cold resistance module through its interaction with TaICE41, thereby improving freezing tolerance in Dn1 wheat.

Keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana, freezing tolerance, ICE-CBF-COR, low temperature, ROS, TaICE41, TaMPK3, winter wheat.

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