Research on Heat and Drought Tolerance in Rice(Oryza sativa L.) by Overexpressing Transcription Factor OsbZIP60

【Objective】Dissect biological function of transcription factor OsbZIP60 by transgenic technology,making preparation for developing stress tolerance rice to reduce the hazard caused by heat and drought stresses.【Method】The overexpression vector containing the full-length coding region of OsbZIP60 gene was constructed and introduced into rice cv.Nipponbare by Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation.The biological function of OsbZIP60 was analyzed by observing the phenotypes of transgenic and wild type plants under stress conditions.The expression pattern of OsbZIP60 and its expression level in transgenic line was analyzed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and real-time quantitative PCR.【Result】The expression level of OsbZIP60 in overexpression transgenic lines is distinctly increased compared to that of WT plants.OsbZIP60 can be induced by heat,and it's further up-regulated in transgenic lines under stress condition.OsbZIP60 is constitutively expressed in rice and has the highest abundance in leaves.Transgenic plants showed significant enhanced stress tolerance.Detached aerial parts of transgenic plants also showed a slower water loss rate compared to that of WT plants.【Conclusion】Transcription factor OsbZIP60 plays an important role in response to heat and drought.Overexpression of OsbZIP60 might be utilized in genetic improvement of heat and drought tolerance in rice.