Brassinosteroid Confers Tolerance in Arabidopsis Thaliana and Brassica Napus to a Range of Abiotic Stresses

Overview

Journal Planta

Specialty Biology

Date 2006 Aug 15

PMID 16906434

Citations 141

Authors

Sateesh Kagale

Uday K Divi

Joan E Krochko

Wilfred A Keller

Priti Krishna

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In addition to an essential role in plant development, brassinosteroids (BRs) appear to have the ability to protect plants against various environmental stresses. However, studies confirming the ability of BRs to modulate plant responses to different environmental stresses are lacking. Earlier we had demonstrated that treatment with 24-epibrassinolide (EBR), a BR, increases the basic thermotolerance of Brassica napus and tomato seedlings [Plant Mol Biol 40:333-342, 1999]. Here we demonstrate that EBR treatment enhances seedling tolerance to drought and cold stresses in both Arabidopsis thaliana and B. napus, and helps to overcome a salt-stress-induced inhibition of seed germination. The ability of EBR to confer tolerance in plants to a variety of stresses was confirmed through analysis of expression of a subset of drought and cold stress marker genes. Transcriptional changes in these genes were more apparent in EBR-treated A. thaliana, in particular during earlier time points of stress. To see if BR is essential for the heat stress (HS) response, we made use of BR-deficient mutants. Both det2-1 and dwf4 mutants still expressed heat shock proteins (hsps) to high levels during HS, indicating that although BR augments thermotolerance in plants, it is not necessary for hsp expression during HS.

Citing Articles

Transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis reveal the cold tolerance mechanism of common beans under cold stress.

Tang W, Li Z, Xu Z, Sui X, Liang L, Xiao J BMC Plant Biol. 2025; 25(1):340.

PMID: 40089684 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-025-06333-z.

Mitigation of salt stress in Camelina sativa by epibrassinolide and salicylic acid treatments.

Gore M Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):7965.

PMID: 40055459 PMC: 11889139. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-92555-y.

Seed Priming with 2,4-Epibrassionolide Enhances Seed Germination and Heat Tolerance in Rice by Regulating the Antioxidant System and Plant Hormone Signaling Pathways.

Qian J, Mo X, Wang Y, Li Q Antioxidants (Basel). 2025; 14(2).

PMID: 40002426 PMC: 11851696. DOI: 10.3390/antiox14020242.

Disorders in brassinosteroids signal transduction triggers the profound molecular alterations in the crown tissue of barley under drought.

Kuczynska A, Michalek M, Ogrodowicz P, Kempa M, Krajewski P, Cardenia V PLoS One. 2025; 20(2):e0318281.

PMID: 39899562 PMC: 11790124. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318281.

Plant Coping with Cold Stress: Molecular and Physiological Adaptive Mechanisms with Future Perspectives.

Feng Y, Li Z, Kong X, Khan A, Ullah N, Zhang X Cells. 2025; 14(2).

PMID: 39851537 PMC: 11764090. DOI: 10.3390/cells14020110.

References

Iwasaki T, Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K, Shinozaki K . Identification of a cis-regulatory region of a gene in Arabidopsis thaliana whose induction by dehydration is mediated by abscisic acid and requires protein synthesis. Mol Gen Genet. 1995; 247(4):391-8. DOI: 10.1007/BF00293139. View

Weretilnyk E, Orr W, White T, Iu B, Singh J . Characterization of three related low-temperature-regulated cDNAs from winter Brassica napus. Plant Physiol. 1993; 101(1):171-7. PMC: 158661. DOI: 10.1104/pp.101.1.171. View

Gao Y, Young L, Gusta L . Characterization and expression of plasma and tonoplast membrane aquaporins in primed seed of Brassica napus during germination under stress conditions. Plant Mol Biol. 1999; 40(4):635-44. DOI: 10.1023/a:1006212216876. View

Ko K, Bornemisza O, Kourtz L, Ko Z, Plaxton W, Cashmore A . Isolation and characterization of a cDNA clone encoding a cognate 70-kDa heat shock protein of the chloroplast envelope. J Biol Chem. 1992; 267(5):2986-93. View

Wang Z, Wang Q, Chong K, Wang F, Wang L, Bai M . The brassinosteroid signal transduction pathway. Cell Res. 2006; 16(5):427-34. PMC: 2990686. DOI: 10.1038/sj.cr.7310054. View

Kiyosue T, Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K, Shinozaki K . Characterization of two cDNAs (ERD10 and ERD14) corresponding to genes that respond rapidly to dehydration stress in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell Physiol. 1994; 35(2):225-31. View

Thomashow M . PLANT COLD ACCLIMATION: Freezing Tolerance Genes and Regulatory Mechanisms. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol. 2004; 50:571-599. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.arplant.50.1.571. View

Morillon R, Catterou M, Sangwan R, Sangwan B, Lassalles J . Brassinolide may control aquaporin activities in Arabidopsis thaliana. Planta. 2001; 212(2):199-204. DOI: 10.1007/s004250000379. View

Krishna P, Reddy R, Sacco M, Frappier J, Felsheim R . Analysis of the native forms of the 90 kDa heat shock protein (hsp90) in plant cytosolic extracts. Plant Mol Biol. 1997; 33(3):457-66. DOI: 10.1023/a:1005709308096. View

10.

Vert G, Nemhauser J, Geldner N, Hong F, Chory J . Molecular mechanisms of steroid hormone signaling in plants. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. 2005; 21:177-201. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.cellbio.21.090704.151241. View

11.

Clouse S, Sasse J . BRASSINOSTEROIDS: Essential Regulators of Plant Growth and Development. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol. 2004; 49:427-451. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.arplant.49.1.427. View

12.

Seki M, Narusaka M, Ishida J, Nanjo T, Fujita M, Oono Y . Monitoring the expression profiles of 7000 Arabidopsis genes under drought, cold and high-salinity stresses using a full-length cDNA microarray. Plant J. 2002; 31(3):279-92. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-313x.2002.01359.x. View

13.

DOWNING W, Mauxion F, Fauvarque M, Reviron M, de Vienne D, Vartanian N . A Brassica napus transcript encoding a protein related to the Künitz protease inhibitor family accumulates upon water stress in leaves, not in seeds. Plant J. 1992; 2(5):685-93. View

14.

Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K, Shinozaki K . Characterization of the expression of a desiccation-responsive rd29 gene of Arabidopsis thaliana and analysis of its promoter in transgenic plants. Mol Gen Genet. 1993; 236(2-3):331-40. DOI: 10.1007/BF00277130. View

15.

Shinozaki K, Yamaguchi-Shinozaki K . Molecular responses to dehydration and low temperature: differences and cross-talk between two stress signaling pathways. Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2000; 3(3):217-23. View

16.

Krishna P, Sacco M, Cherutti J, Hill S . Cold-Induced Accumulation of hsp90 Transcripts in Brassica napus. Plant Physiol. 1995; 107(3):915-923. PMC: 157208. DOI: 10.1104/pp.107.3.915. View

17.

Clouse S . Brassinosteroid signal transduction: clarifying the pathway from ligand perception to gene expression. Mol Cell. 2002; 10(5):973-82. DOI: 10.1016/s1097-2765(02)00744-x. View

18.

Gilmour S, Artus N, Thomashow M . cDNA sequence analysis and expression of two cold-regulated genes of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Mol Biol. 1992; 18(1):13-21. DOI: 10.1007/BF00018452. View

19.

Stockinger E, Gilmour S, Thomashow M . Arabidopsis thaliana CBF1 encodes an AP2 domain-containing transcriptional activator that binds to the C-repeat/DRE, a cis-acting DNA regulatory element that stimulates transcription in response to low temperature and water deficit. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997; 94(3):1035-40. PMC: 19635. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.94.3.1035. View

20.

Mussig C, Fischer S, Altmann T . Brassinosteroid-regulated gene expression. Plant Physiol. 2002; 129(3):1241-51. PMC: 166518. DOI: 10.1104/pp.011003. View