PagWOX11/12a from hybrid poplar enhances drought tolerance by modulating reactive oxygen species

Wen-Teng Zuo; Jia-Hui Meng; Hong-Chao Liu; Hang-Yong Zhu; Meng-Zhu Lu; Liu-Qiang Wang

doi:10.1016/j.plaphy.2024.108662

PagWOX11/12a from hybrid poplar enhances drought tolerance by modulating reactive oxygen species

Plant Physiol Biochem. 2024 Apr 25:211:108662. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2024.108662. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Wen-Teng Zuo¹, Jia-Hui Meng¹, Hong-Chao Liu¹, Hang-Yong Zhu², Meng-Zhu Lu³, Liu-Qiang Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation of the State Forestry Administration, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510520, China.
³ Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China; State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, College of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, 311300, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation of the State Forestry Administration, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China; Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China. Electronic address: wanglq@caf.ac.cn.

PMID: 38691876
DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2024.108662

Abstract

WOX11/12 is a homeobox gene of WOX11 and WOX12 in Arabidopsis that plays important roles in crown root development and growth. It has been reported that WOX11/12 participates in adventitious root (AR) formation and different abiotic stress responses, but the downstream regulatory network of WOX11/12 in poplar remains to be further investigated. In this study, we found that PagWOX11/12a is strongly induced by PEG-simulated drought stress. PagWOX11/12a-overexpressing poplar plantlets showed lower oxidative damage levels, greater antioxidant enzyme activities and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capacity than non-transgenic poplar plants, whereas PagWOX11/12a dominant repression weakened root biomass accumulation and drought tolerance in poplar. RNA-seq analysis revealed that several differentially expressed genes (DEGs) regulated by PagWOX11/12a are involved in redox metabolism and drought stress response. We used RT-qPCR and yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assays to validate the downstream target genes of PagWOX11/12a. These results provide new insights into the biological function and molecular regulatory mechanism of WOX11/12 in the abiotic resistance processes of poplar.

Keywords: Antioxidant enzyme; Drought tolerance; PagWOX11/12a; Poplar; Reactive oxygen species.