Reduced Expression of Gongdae Ring Zinc Finger 1 (GdRZF1) Enhances Drought Stress Tolerance in Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)

Jung-Sung Chung; Seung-Hyeon Park; Ji-Hee Min; Kwang-Hyun Min; Sungbeom Lee; Kyeong-Hwan Lee; Cheol Soo Kim

doi:10.12972/kjhst.20170068

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2017 Vol.35, Issue 5 Preview Page Next Page

Reduced Expression of Gongdae Ring Zinc Finger 1 (GdRZF1) Enhances Drought Stress Tolerance in Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)

31 October 2017. pp. 637-646

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Abstract

Watermelon is a major fruit vegetable around the world. Drought is an abiotic stress factor that affects the productivity and growth of crop plants. To improve the tolerance of watermelon to drought stress, it is important to isolate stress tolerance-related genes. Recently, we characterized the gene for a ubiquitin E3 ligase protein named Lagenaria siceraria RING Zinc Finger 1 (LsRZF1). In Arabidopsis, LsRZF1 is involved in the drought response through the proline metabolism-mediated pathway. In this study, we identified and characterized a watermelon (Citrullus lanatus cv. Gongdae) homolog of LsRZF1, designated GdRZF1. LsRZF1 antisense (lsrzf1) transgenic watermelon lines showed reduced GdRZF1 expression, and were less sensitive to drought stress than the wild type. Reduced expression of GdRZF1 was also significantly influential in changes in drought-sensitive parameters including relative water content, ion leakage, chlorophyll content, malondialdehyde levels, proline content, and the expression of drought stress-associated genes. Taken together, these findings suggest that GdRZF1 is important for water deficit tolerance in watermelon.

Keywords

drought response

Lagenaria siceraria RING Zinc Finger 1

RING-type zinc finger

ubiquitin E3 ligase

watermelon

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Information

Publisher :KOREAN SOCIETY FOR HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE
Publisher(Ko) :한국원예학회
Journal Title :Horticultural Science and Technology
Journal Title(Ko) :원예과학기술지
Volume : 35
No :5
Pages :637-646
Received Date : 2017-05-02
Revised Date : 2017-07-15
Accepted Date : 2017-07-12
DOI :https://doi.org/10.12972/kjhst.20170068

Horticultural Science and Technology 원예과학기술지 ISSN:1226-8763(Print) 2465-8588(Online)

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