A MAPK Gene From Poncirus trifoliata Confers Dehydration and Drought Tolerance by Modulating the Antioxidant Systems

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade plays pivotal roles in diverse signaling pathways related to plant development and stress responses.  In this study, we report the cloning and functional characterization of a group-I MAPK gene, PtrMAPK, in Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.  PtrMAPK contains 11 highly conserved kinase domains and a phosphorylation motif (TEY), and is localized in the nucleus of transformed onion epidermal cells.  PtrMAPK transcript level was increased by dehydration and cold, but was unaffected by salt.  Transgenic overexpression of PtrMAPK in tobacco confers dehydration and drought tolerance.  The transgenic plants exhibited better water status, less reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and higher levels of antioxidant enzyme activity and metabolites than the wild type.  Interestingly, the stress tolerance capacity of the transgenic plants was compromised by the antioxidant enzyme inhibitors.  In addition, overexpression of PtrMAPK enhanced the expression of ROS-related and stress-responsive genes under normal or drought conditions.  Taken together, these data demonstrate that PtrMAPK acts as a positive regulator in dehydration/drought stress responses by either regulating ROS homeostasis through activation of the cellular antioxidant systems or modulating transcriptional levels of a variety of stress associated genes.