AUTHOR=Lv Aimin , Fan Nana , Xie Jianping , Yuan Shili , An Yuan , Zhou Peng 

TITLE=Expression of CdDHN4, a Novel YSK2-Type Dehydrin Gene from Bermudagrass, Responses to Drought Stress through the ABA-Dependent Signal Pathway

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2017.00748

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2017.00748

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Dehydrin improves plant resistance to many abiotic stresses. In this study, the expression profiles of a dehydrin gene, <italic>CdDHN4</italic>, were estimated under various stresses and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments in two bermudagrasses (<italic>Cynodon dactylon</italic> L.): Tifway (drought-tolerant) and C299 (drought-sensitive). The expression of <italic>CdDHN4</italic> was up-regulated by high temperatures, low temperatures, drought, salt and ABA. The sensitivity of <italic>CdDHN4</italic> to ABA and the expression of <italic>CdDHN4</italic> under drought conditions were higher in Tifway than in C299. A 1239-bp fragment, CdDHN4-P, the partial upstream sequence of the <italic>CdDHN4</italic> gene, was cloned by genomic walking from Tifway. Bioinformatic analysis showed that the CdDHN4-P sequence possessed features typical of a plant promoter and contained many typical <italic>cis</italic> elements, including a transcription initiation site, a TATA-box, an ABRE, an MBS, a MYC, an LTRE, a TATC-box and a GT1-motif. Transient expression in tobacco leaves demonstrated that the promoter CdDHN4-P can be activated by ABA, drought and cold. These results indicate that <italic>CdDHN4</italic> is regulated by an ABA-dependent signal pathway and that the high sensitivity of <italic>CdDHN4</italic> to ABA might be an important mechanism enhancing the drought tolerance of bermudagrass.</p>