AUTHOR=Ma Jianhui , Zhang Mengqi , Lv Wenming , Tang Xiaoxiao , Zhao Dongyang , Wang Li , Li Chunxi , Jiang Lina 

TITLE=Overexpression of TaSNAC4-3D in Common Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Negatively Regulates Drought Tolerance

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.945272

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.945272

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The development and production of bread wheat (<italic>Triticum aestivum</italic> L.) are widely affected by drought stress worldwide. Many NAC transcription factors (TFs) of stress-associated group (SNAC) are functionally proven to regulate drought tolerance. In this study, we identified 41 TaSNACs that were classified into 14 groups, and the expression of <italic>TaSNAC4-3D</italic> was induced in the leaf tissue <italic>via</italic> osmotic or abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. TaSNAC4-3D was localized to the nucleus through the transient expression assay, and the C-terminal region exhibited transcriptional activity <italic>via</italic> transactivation assays. <italic>TaSNAC4-3D</italic> was overexpressed in common wheat. The wheat plants with <italic>TaSNAC4-3D</italic> overexpression was more sensitive to drought stress compared with wild-type (WT) plants. The water loss rate showed no difference between transgenic lines and WT plants. However, drought stress increased H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and O<sup>2–</sup> accumulation and promoted programmed cell death (PCD) in the leaf tissue of <italic>TaSNAC4-3D</italic> overexpression lines compared with WT plants. RNA-seq analysis was performed under well-watered and drought conditions, and four strong potential target genes, encoding senescence regulators, were identified by analyzing their promoters containing the NAC recognition sequence (NACRS). Based on these results, our findings revealed that TaSNAC4-3D negatively regulates drought tolerance by inducing oxidative damage in bread wheat.</p>