Phosphorylation of a NAC Transcription Factor by a Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Regulates Abscisic Acid-Induced Antioxidant Defense in Maize [Phosphorylation of a NAC Transcription Factor by ZmCCaMK Regulates Abscisic Acid-Induced Antioxidant Defense in Maize]

Journal Article · Tue May 10 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Plant Physiology (Bethesda)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.16.00168· OSTI ID:1378348

Zhu, Yuan ^[1]; Yan, Jingwei ^[1]; Liu, Weijuan ^[1]; Liu, Lei ^[1]; Sheng, Yu ^[1]; Sun, Yue ^[1]; Li, Yanyun ^[1]; Scheller, Henrik Vibe  ^[2]; Jiang, Mingyi  ^[1]; Hou, Xilin ^[3]; Ni, Lan ^[1]; Zhang, Aying  ^[1]

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1. Nanjing Agricultural Univ., Jiangsu (China)
2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
3. Nanjing Agricultural Univ., Jiangsu (China); Jiangsu Polytechnic College of Agriculture and Forestry, Jiangsu (China)

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CCaMK) has been shown to play an important role in abscisic acid (ABA)-induced antioxidant defense and enhance the tolerance of plants to drought stress. However, its downstream molecular events are poorly understood. Here, we identify a NAC transcription factor, ZmNAC84, in maize, which physically interacts with ZmCCaMK in vitro and in vivo. ZmNAC84 display a partially overlapping expression pattern with ZmCCaMK after ABA treatment and H₂O₂ is required for ABA-induced ZmNAC84 expression. Functional analysis reveals that ZmNAC84 is essential for ABA-induced antioxidant defense in a ZmCCaMK-dependent manner. Furthermore, ZmCCaMK directly phosphorylates S113 of ZmNAC84 in vitro, and S113 is essential for the ABA-induced stimulation of antioxidant defense by ZmCCaMK. Moreover, overexpression of ZmNAC84 in tobacco can improve drought tolerance, and alleviate drought-induced oxidative damage of transgenic plants. These results define a mechanism for ZmCCaMK function in ABA-induced antioxidant defense, where ABA-produced H₂O₂ first induces expression of ZmCCaMK and ZmNAC84 and activates ZmCCaMK, and subsequently the activated ZmCCaMK phosphorylates ZmNAC84 at S113, thereby inducing antioxidant defense by activating downstream genes.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1378348
• Journal Information: Plant Physiology (Bethesda), Vol. 171, Issue 3; ISSN 0032-0889
• Publisher: American Society of Plant Biologists
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES