BcSRC2 interacts with BcAPX4 to increase ascorbic acid content for responding ABA signaling and drought stress in pak choi

Abstract

As a reducing substance, ascorbic acid functioned well in abiotic and biotic stress. However, the regulatory mechanism of drought resistance is rarely known in pak choi. Here we found a gene BcSRC2 containing a C2 domain that responds to ABA signal and drought regulation in pak choi. Silencing of BcSRC2 reduces ascorbic acid content and drought resistance of pak choi. In Arabidopsis, BcSRC2 overexpression promotes ascorbic acid accumulation and increases drought tolerance. Meanwhile, transcriptome analysis between WT and BcSRC2-overexpressing pak choi suggests that ascorbic acid-related genes are regulated. BcSRC2 interacts with BcAPX4 and inhibit APX activity in vitro and in vivo, increasing the ascorbic acid content. We also found that drought stress increases ABA content, which reduces the expression of BcMYB30. BcMYB30 bound to the promoter of BcSRC2 and reduced its expression. Overall, our results suggest that a regulatory module, BcMYB30-BcSRC2-BcAPX4, plays a central role in increasing ascorbic acid content for responding ABA-mediated drought regulation in pak choi.

Acknowledgements

National Natural Science Foundation of China (31872106), Jiangsu Seed Industry Revitalization Project [JBGS (2021)015], and national vegetable industry technology system (CARS-23-A-16).

Author contributions

Z.Y. designed the research and wrote the manuscript. X.C. analysed data. Z.C., H.W., S.H.A.H., T.L., and X.H. revised the manuscript. Y.L. advised on the design, results, and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Data availability

The RNA-seq data of WT and BcSRC2-overexpressed pak choi can be found in the NCBI database with the accession code PRJNA1063936. All data can be found in the main text.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Supplementary data

Supplementary data is available at Horticulture Research online.

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