Expression of AhATL1, an ABA Transport Factor Gene from Peanut, Is Affected by Altered Memory Gene Expression Patterns and Increased Tolerance to Drought Stress in Arabidopsis

• Main Authors: Ming Qin, Xiaoyan Li, Shaohua Tang, Yinglin Huang, Ling Li, Bo Hu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: AhATL1; ABA; memory gene; tolerance; drought stress memory; peanut
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/7/3398
• ISSN: 1661-6596; 1422-0067

<i>Arachis hypogaea</i> abscisic acid transporter like-1 (AhATL1) modulates abscisic acid (ABA) sensitivity by specifically influencing the importing of ABA into cells, and is a key player in plant stress responses. However, there is limited information on ABA transporters in crops. In this study, we found that the level of <i>AhATL1</i> expression and AhATL1 distribution increased more rapidly in the second drought (D2) compared with in the first drought (D1). Compared with the first recovery (R1), the <i>AhATL1 </i>expression level and ABA content remained at a higher level during the second recovery (R2). The heterologous overexpression of <i>AhATL1</i> in <i>Arabidopsis</i> changed the expression pattern of certain memory genes and changed the post response gene type into the memory gene type. Regarding the proline and water content of Col (<i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> L. Heynh., Col-0), <i>atabcg22, </i>and AhATL1-OX during drought training, the second drought (D2) was more severe than the first drought (D1), which was more conducive to maintaining the cell osmotic balance and resisting drought. In summary, drought stress memory resulted in a rapid increase in the <i>AhATL1 </i>expression and AhATL1 distribution level, and then raised the endogenous ABA content and changed the post response gene type into the memory gene type, which enhanced the drought resistance and recovery ability.