The A subunit of vacuolar H+-ATPase gene (CmVHA-A) plays opposite roles in plant growth and drought tolerance of chrysanthemum under different growing conditions

Yan-Hong Liu; Zhen-Hao Zou; Man-Man Zhang; Zhang-Ji Guan; Lian-Da Du; Da-Gang Hu; Cheng-Shu Zheng; Cui-Hui Sun

doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2024.112105

The A subunit of vacuolar H⁺-ATPase gene (CmVHA-A) plays opposite roles in plant growth and drought tolerance of chrysanthemum under different growing conditions

Plant Sci. 2024 Apr 24:344:112105. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2024.112105. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yan-Hong Liu¹, Zhen-Hao Zou¹, Man-Man Zhang¹, Zhang-Ji Guan¹, Lian-Da Du¹, Da-Gang Hu¹, Cheng-Shu Zheng², Cui-Hui Sun³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ornamental Horticulture, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai-An, Shandong 271018, China.
² Department of Ornamental Horticulture, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai-An, Shandong 271018, China. Electronic address: zcs@sdau.edu.cn.
³ Department of Ornamental Horticulture, Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center of Fruit & Vegetable Quality and Efficient Production, College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai-An, Shandong 271018, China. Electronic address: suncuihui@163.com.

PMID: 38663481
DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2024.112105

Abstract

As the most prominent proton pumps in plants, vacuolar H⁺-ATPases (VHAs) comprise multiple subunits that are important for physiological processes and stress tolerance in plants. However, few studies on the roles of subunit genes of VHAs in chrysanthemum have been reported to date. In this study, the gene of A subunit of V-ATPase in chrysanthemum (CmVHA-A) was cloned and identified. CmVHA-A was conserved with VHA-A proteins from other plants. Expression analysis showed that CmVHA-A was highly expressed in most tissues of chrysanthemum except for the flower bud, and was readily induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) treatment. Functional analysis demonstrated that CmVHA-A exerted a negative influence on the growth and development of shoot and root of chrysanthemum under normal conditions. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis revealed the possible explanations for phenotypic differences between transgenic and wild-type (WT) plants. Under drought conditions, CmVHA-A positively affected the drought tolerance of chrysanthemum by enhancing antioxidase activity and alleviating photosynthetic disruption. Overall, CmVHA-A plays opposite roles in plant growth and drought tolerance of chrysanthemums under different growing conditions.

Keywords: CmVHA-A; Drought; Vacuolar H+-ATPases.