AUTHOR=Ahn Hongryul , Jung Inuk , Shin Seon-Ju , Park Jinwoo , Rhee Sungmin , Kim Ju-Kon , Jung Woosuk , Kwon Hawk-Bin , Kim Sun 

TITLE=Transcriptional Network Analysis Reveals Drought Resistance Mechanisms of AP2/ERF Transgenic Rice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2017.01044

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2017.01044

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>This study was designed to investigate at the molecular level how a transgenic version of rice “Nipponbare” obtained a drought-resistant phenotype. Using multi-omics sequencing data, we compared wild-type rice (WT) and a transgenic version (<italic>erf71</italic>) that had obtained a drought-resistant phenotype by overexpressing <italic>OsERF71</italic>, a member of the AP2/ERF transcription factor (TF) family. A comprehensive bioinformatics analysis pipeline, including TF networks and a cascade tree, was developed for the analysis of multi-omics data. The results of the analysis showed that the presence of <italic>OsERF71</italic> at the source of the network controlled global gene expression levels in a specific manner to make <italic>erf71</italic> survive longer than WT. Our analysis of the time-series transcriptome data suggests that <italic>erf71</italic> diverted more energy to survival-critical mechanisms related to translation, oxidative response, and DNA replication, while further suppressing energy-consuming mechanisms, such as photosynthesis. To support this hypothesis further, we measured the net photosynthesis level under physiological conditions, which confirmed the further suppression of photosynthesis in <italic>erf71</italic>. In summary, our work presents a comprehensive snapshot of transcriptional modification in transgenic rice and shows how this induced the plants to acquire a drought-resistant phenotype.</p>