A wheat gene Ta SAP17-D encoding an AN1/AN1 zinc finger protein improves salt stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis

The stress-associated protein （SAP） multigene family is conserved in both animals and plants. Its function in some an- imals and plants are known, but it is yet to be deciphered in wheat （Triticum aestivum L.）. We identified the wheat gene TaSAP17-D, a member of the SAP gene family with an AN1/AN1 conserved domain. Subcellular localization indicated that TaSAP17-D localized to the nucleus, cytoplasm, and cell membrane. Expression pattern analyses revealed that TaSAP17-D was highly expressed in seedlings and was involved in NaCI response, polyethylene glycol （PEG）, cold, and exogenous abscisic acid （ABA）. Constitutive expression of TaSAP17-D in transgenic Arabidopsis resulted in enhanced tolerance to salt stress, confirmed by improved multiple physiological indices and significantly upregulated marker genes related to salt stress response. Our results suggest that TaSAP17-D is a candidate gene that can be used to protect crop plants from salt stress.

Expressional and Biochemical Characterization of Rice Disease Resistance Gene Xa3/Xa26 Family

The rice （Oryza sativa L.） Xa3/Xa26 gene, conferring race-specific resistance to bacterial blight disease and encoding a leucine-rich repeat （LRR） receptor kinase-like protein, belongs to a multigene family consisting of tandem clustered homologous genes, colocalizing with several uncharacterized genes for resistance to bacterial blight or fungal blast. To provide more information on the expressional and biochemical characteristics of the Xa3/Xa26 family, we analyzed the family members. Four Xa3/Xa26 family members in the indica rice variety Teqing, which carries a bacterial blight resistance gene with a chromosomal location tightly linked to Xa3/Xa26, and five Xa3/Xa26 family members in the japonica rice variety Nipponbare, which carries at least one uncharacterized blast resistance gene, were constitutively expressed in leaf tissue. The result suggests that some of the family members may be candidates of these uncharacterized resistance genes. At least five putative N-glycosylation sites in the LRR domain of XA3/XA26 protein are not glycosylated. The XA3/XA26 and its family members MRKa and MRKc all possess the consensus sequences of paired cysteines, which putatively function in dimerization of the receptor proteins for signal transduction, immediately before the first LRR and immediately after the last LRR. However, no homo-dimer between the XA3/XA26 molecules or hetero-dimer between XA3/XA26 and MRKa or MRKc were formed, indicating that XA3/XA26 protein might function either as a monomer or a hetero-dimer formed with other protein outside of the XA3/XA26 family. These results provide valuable information for further extensive investigation into this multiple protein family.

Identification of African swine fever virus MGF505-2R as a potent inhibitor of innate immunity in vitro

African swine fever(ASF)is etiologically an acute,highly contagious and hemorrhagic disease caused by African swine fever virus(ASFV).Due to its genetic variation and phenotypic diversity,until now,no efficient commercial vaccines or therapeutic options are available.The ASFV genome contains a conserved middle region and two flexible ends that code for five multigene families(MGFs),while the biological functions of the MGFs are not fully characterized.Here,ASFV MGF505-2R-deficient mutant ASFV-Δ2R was constructed based on a highly virulent genotype II field isolate ASFV CN/GS/2018 currently circulating in China.Transcriptomic profiling demonstrated that ASFV-Δ2R was capable of inducing a larger number of differentially expressed genes(DEGs)compared with ASFV CN/GS/2018.Hierarchical clustering of up-regulated DEGs revealed that ASFV-Δ2R induced the most dramatic expression of interferon-related genes and inflammatory and innate immune genes,as further validated by RT-qPCR.The GO and KEGG pathway analysis identified significantly enriched pathways involved in pathogen recognition and innate antiviral immunity.Conversely,pharmacological activation of those antiviral immune responses by exogenous cytokines,including type I/II IFNs,TNF-αand IL-1β,exerted combinatory effects and synergized in antiviral capacity against ASFV replication.Collectively,MGF505-2R is a newly identified inhibitor of innate immunity potentially implicated in immune evasion.