Rice Stress Associated Protein 1 (OsSAP1) Interacts with Aminotransferase (OsAMTR1) and Pathogenesis-Related 1a Protein (OsSCP) and Regulates Abiotic Stress Responses

Understanding abiotic stress responses in plants is an important and challenging topic in plant research. Physiological and molecular biological analyses have allowed us to draw a picture of abiotic stress responses in various plants, and determination of the Arabidopsis genome sequence has had a great impact on this research field. The availability of the complete genome sequence has facilitated access to essential information for all genes, e.g. gene products and their function, transcript levels, putative cis-regulatory elements, and alternative splicing patterns. These data have been obtained from comprehensive transcriptome analyses and studies using full-length cDNA collections and T-DNA- or transposon-tagged mutant lines, which were also enhanced by genome sequence information. Moreover, studies on novel regulatory mechanisms involving use of small RNA molecules, chromatin modulation and genomic DNA modification have enabled us to recognize that plants have evolved complicated and sophisticated systems in response to complex abiotic stresses. Integrated data obtained with various 'omics' approaches have provided a more comprehensive picture of abiotic stress responses. In addition, research on stress responses in various plant species other than Arabidopsis has increased our knowledge regarding the mechanisms of plant stress tolerance in nature. Based on this progress, improvements in crop stress tolerance have been attempted by means of gene transfer and marker-assisted breeding. In this review, we summarize recent progress in abiotic stress studies, especially in the post-genomic era, and offer new perspectives on research directions for the next decade.

Abiotic stresses such as drought and high salinity adversely affect the growth and productivity of plants, including crops. The development of stress-tolerant crops will be greatly advantageous for modern agriculture in areas that are prone to such stresses. In recent years, several advances have been made towards identifying potential stress related genes which are capable of increasing the tolerance of plants to abiotic stress. NAC proteins are plant-specific transcription factors and more than 100 NAC genes have been identified in Arabidopsis and rice to date. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the six major groups were already established at least in an ancient moss lineage. NAC transcription factors have a variety of important functions not only in plant development but also in abiotic stress responses. Stress-inducible NAC genes have been shown to be involved in abiotic stress tolerance. Transgenic Arabidopsis and rice plants overexpressing stress-responsive NAC (SNAC) genes have exhibited improved drought tolerance. These studies indicate that SNAC factors have important roles for the control of abiotic stress tolerance and that their overexpression can improve stress tolerance via biotechnological approaches. Although these transcription factors can bind to the same core NAC recognition sequence, recent studies have demonstrated that the effects of NAC factors for growth are different. Moreover, the NAC proteins are capable of functioning as homo- or hetero-dimer forms. Thus, SNAC factors can be useful for improving stress tolerance in transgenic plants, although the mechanism for mediating the stress tolerance of these homologous factors is complex in plants. Recent studies also suggest that crosstalk may exist between stress responses and plant growth. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Plant gene regulation in response to abiotic stress. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Plants exhibit a variety of responses to abiotic stresses that enable them to tolerate and survive adverse conditions. As we learn more about the signalling pathways leading to these responses, it is becoming clear that they constitute a network that is interconnected at many levels. In this article, we discuss the 'cross-talk' between different signalling pathways and question whether there are any truly specific abiotic stress signalling responses.