Plant Diversity ›› 2021, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (01): 71-77.DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2020.06.010

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Functional characterization of the Arabidopsis SERRATE under salt stress

Minghui Moua,c, Qijuan Wanga,c, Yanli Chena,c, Diqiu Yua, Ligang Chena,b   

  1. a CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Plant Resources and Sustainable Use, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China;
    b Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China;
    c College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2020-02-12 Revised:2020-06-11 Online:2021-02-25 Published:2021-03-25
  • Contact: Diqiu Yu, Ligang Chen
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National key R & D plan (2016YFD0101006), Natural Science Foundation of China (31671275), Candidates of the Young and Middle-Aged Academic Leaders of Yunnan Province (2015HB094), Yunnan Fundamental Research Projects (grant NO. 2017FB047 and 2019FA010).

Abstract: SERRATE (SE) plays critical roles in RNA metabolism and plant growth regulation. However, its function in stresseresponse processes remains largely unknown. Here, we examined the regulatory role of SE using the se-1 mutant and its complementation line under saline conditions. The expression of SE was repressed by salt treatment at both mRNA and protein levels. After treatment with different NaCl concentrations, the se-1 mutants showed increased sensitivity to salinity. This heightened sensitivity was evidenced by decreased germination, reduced root growth, more serious chlorosis, and increased conductivity of the mutants compared with the wild type. Further analysis revealed that SE regulates the pre-mRNA splicing of several well-characterized marker genes associated with salt stress tolerance. Our data thus imply that SE may function as a key component in plant response to salt stress by modulating the splicing of salt stress-associated genes.

Key words: SERRATE, Salt stress, Pre-mRNA alternative splicing