Romero-Romero, J. L., Inostroza-Blancheteau, C., Orellana, D., Aquea, F., Reyes-Diaz, M., Gil, P. M., et al. (2018). Stomata regulation by tissue-specific expression of the Citrus sinensis MYB61 transcription factor improves water-use efficiency in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol. Biochem., 130, 54–60.
Abstract: Water-use efficiency (WUE) is a quantitative measurement of biomass produced per volume of water transpired by a plant. WUE is an important physiological trait for drought response to mitigate the water deficiency. In this work, a cisgenic construction from Citrus sinensis was developed and its function in the improvement of WUE was evaluated in Arabidopsis. Sequences of the CsMYB61 coding region, a transcription factor implicated in the closure of stomata, together with a putative stomata-specific promoter from CsMYB.1.5, were identified and cloned. The protein encoded in the CsMYB61 locus harbors domains and motifs characteristic of MYB61 proteins. In addition, a 1.2 kb promoter region of the gene CsMYB15 (pCsMYB15) containing regulatory elements for expression in guard cells and in response to Abscisic Acid (ABA) and light was isolated. In Arabidopsis, pCsMYB15 directs the expression of the reporter gene GUS in stomata in the presence of light. In addition, transgenic lines expressing the CsMYB61 coding region under transcriptional control of pCsMYB15 have a normal phenotype under in vitro and greenhouse conditions. These transgenic lines exhibited a smaller opening of the stomata pore, lower stomatal conductance and respiration rate, enhanced sensitivity to exogenous ABA, and high drought stress tolerance. Our results indicate that stomata-specific expression of CsMYB61 enhances water use efficiency under drought conditions in Arabidospis.
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de la Guardia, A. R. H., Ugalde, M. B., Lobos-Diaz, V., Romero-Romero, J. L., Meyer-Regueiro, C., Inostroza-Blancheteau, C., et al. (2021). Isolation and molecular characterization of MYB60 in Solanum lycopersicum. Mol. Biol. Rep., 48(2), 1579–1587.
Abstract: Stomatal closure is a common adaptation response of plants to the onset of drought condition and its regulation is controlled by transcription factors. MYB60, a transcription factor involved in the regulation of light-induced stomatal opening, has been characterized in arabidopsis and grapevine. In this work, we studied the role of MYB60 homolog SIMYB60 in tomato plants. We identified, isolated, and sequenced the SIMYB60 coding sequence, and found domains and motifs characteristic of other MYB60 proteins. We determined that SlMYB60 is mainly expressed in leaves, and its expression is repressed by abscisic acid. Next, we isolated a putative promoter region containing regulatory elements responsible for guard cell expression and other putative regulatory elements related to ABA repression and vascular tissue expression. Protein localization assays demonstrated that SlMYB60 localizes to the nucleus. Finally, SlMYB60 is able to complement the mutant phenotype of atmyb60-1 in Arabidopsis. Together, these results indicate that SlMYB60 is the homologous gene in tomato and potentially offer a molecular target to improve crops.
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