FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THREE ARABIDOPSIS GENES AT5G17960, AT5G51190, AT5G58680 INVOLVED IN PLANT STRESS RESPONSE

Abstract

Plants are exposed to various biotic and abiotic stress conditions during their life cycle. Phytohormones play a crucial role in regulating the stress response in plants. We report the involvement of three novel genes viz. At5g17960 containing three-conserved signature domains viz. C1_2, C1_3 and PHD/ZZ type which is characteristic of C1 clan, At5g51190 containing ERF (Ethylene Response Factor) domain and At5g58680 containing ARM (armadillo) domain. We characterized the gene family consisting of 73 genes in Arabidopsis thaliana including At5g17960, which contains three of the conserved domains characteristic of the C1 clan. Chitin a known elicitor from fungal cell wall induces the transcript levels of At5g17960, At5g51190, and At5g58680 within 60min indicating their role in plant immune response. Infection of the leaves from the transgenic lines by the fungus Alternaria brassicicola was attempted to examine the roles of these genes in biotic stress.