Two poplar calcineurin B-like proteins confer enhanced tolerance to abiotic stresses in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

Calcium is a critical component in a number of plant signal transduction pathways and the calcineurin B-like protein (CBL) family is a unique group of calcium sensors regulating a family of CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs). In this study, two poplar CBL genes, PeCBL6 (GenBank acc. No. DQ907710) and PeCBL10 (GenBank acc. No. DQ899956), were characterized in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana, particularly with regard to its role in abiotic stress resistance. Expression of the two CBL genes in poplar was induced by cold, drought, or high salinity, but not by abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. In Arabidopsis thaliana, PeCBL6 was found in the nucleus and PeCBL10 in the tonoplast. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing PeCBL6 or PeCBL10 showed enhanced tolerance to high salinity, drought and low temperature. These results suggested that PeCBL6 and PeCBL10 may function as positive regulators of salt, drought and temperature responses. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.