AtERF019 is involved in the crosstalk between leaf senescence and oxidative stress in adult plants

SCARPECI TE; ZANOR MI; VALLE EM

Rosario

Congreso; SAIB; 2014

SAIB

AtERF019 transcription factor, which is a member of the APETALA2 (AP2)/ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (ERF) gene family, was induced under oxidative stress originated in chloroplast. Plants overexpressing AtERF019 (ERF019 lines) showed not only a delay in the onset of leaf senescence but also an enhanced drought tolerance compared to Col-0 plants that was observed in 36-day-old plants but not in 15-day-old plants. The delay in natural senescence was corroborated by measuring the different senescence associated physiological markers, such as chlorophyll and protein contents as well as RuBisCO large subunit and glutamine synthetase levels. Added to this, dark induced senescence was observed in adult plants but not in ERF019 seedlings. In line with these results, ERF019 and Col-0 leaves from adult plants were subjected to treatments that induce senescence such as salt, ethylene and ABA. In all these experiments it was observed that chlorophyll degradation occurred to a lesser extent in ERF019 lines than Col-0 plants. Taking into account these results, we suggest that AtERF019 transcription factor may play a role in the crosstalk between stress resistance response and senescing process in adult plants. Furthermore, AtERF019 may require coordination with developmentally regulated components in order to activate certain genes related with senescence and stress tolerance.