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A soybean elongation factor Tu family (EF-Tu) protein, GmEF8, was determined to interact with GmCBL1, and GmEF8 expression was found to be induced by various abiotic stresses such as drought and heat. An ortholog of GmEF8 was identified in Arabidopsis , a T-DNA knockout line for which exhibited hypersensitivity to drought and heat stresses. Complementation with GmEF8 rescued the sensitivity of the Arabidopsis mutant to drought and heat stresses, and GmEF8 overexpression conferred drought and heat tolerance to transgenic Arabidopsis plants. In soybean, plants with GmEF8 -overexpressing hairy roots (OE- GmEF8) exhibited enhanced drought and heat tolerance and had higher proline levels compared to plants with RNAi GmEF8 -knockdown hairy roots (MR- GmEF8) and control hairy roots (EV). A number of drought-responsive genes, such as GmRD22 and GmP5CS , were induced in the OE- GmEF8 line compared to MR- GmEF8 and EV under normal growth conditions. These results suggest that GmEF8 has a positive role in regulating drought and heat stresses in Arabidopsis and soybean. This study reveals a potential role of the soybean GmEF8 gene in response to abiotic stresses, providing a foundation for further investigation into the complexities of stress signal transduction pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their essential and multiple roles in biological processes, the molecular mechanism of Dof transcription factors (TFs) for responding to abiotic stresses is rarely reported in plants. We identified a soybean Dof gene GmDof41 which was involved in the responses to drought, salt, and exogenous ABA stresses. Overexpression of GmDof4 1 in soybean transgenic hairy roots attenuated H 2 O 2 accumulation and regulated proline homeostasis, resulting in the drought and salt tolerance. Yeast one-hybrid and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) illustrated that GmDof41 was regulated by the DREB1-type protein GmDREB1B;1 that could improve drought and salt tolerance in plants. Further studies illustrated GmDof41 can directly bind to the promoter of GmDREB2A which encodes a DREB2-type protein and affects abiotic stress tolerance in plants. Collectively, our results suggested that GmDof41 positively regulated drought and salt tolerance by correlating with GmDREB1B;1 and GmDREB2A. This study provides an important basis for further exploring the abiotic stress-tolerance mechanism of Dof TFs in soybean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs/LTPs) play important roles in plant growth, development and abiotic stress responses. However, little is known about LTPs in soybean. In this study, 131 LTPs were identified and divided into ten types (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and Y), and each GmLtp has the characteristic eight-cysteine motif (8 CM) of plant LTPs. RNA-seq data showed that most GmLtps responded to a variety of abiotic stresses. Among the GmLtp members, GmLtpⅠ.3 was significantly induced under drought and salt treatments. Overexpressing GmLtpⅠ.3 improved tolerance to drought and salt stresses in transgenic Arabidopsis and soybean. The results showed that the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the roots of GmLtpⅠ.3 -overexpressing (OE -GmLtpⅠ.3) plants decreased significantly, compare with GmLtpⅠ.3 RNA interference (RNAi- GmLtpⅠ.3) and empty vector (EV-Control) plants. Furthermore, compared with EV-Control, the expression level of GmSOD1 and GmSOD2 increased in OE- GmLtpI.3. Contrarily, the expression of GmRBOHA and GmRBOHB decreased in OE- GmLtpI.3. The results of this study provide the basis for further comprehensive analyses of LTP genes and insights into abiotic stress response mechanisms in soybean. • 131 plant non-specific lipid transfer proteins genes were identified and analyzed in soybean. • Overexpression of GmLtpⅠ.3 can improve Arabidopsis and soybean stress tolerance. • GmLtpⅠ.3 regulates soybean tolerance to drought and salt stresses at the molecular levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]