The BBX gene <i>CmBBX22</i> negatively regulates drought stress tolerance in chrysanthemum

Abstract

BBX transcription factors play vital roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. Although BBX proteins have been studied in great detail in the model plant <i>Arabidopsis</i>, their roles in crop plants such as chrysanthemum are still largely uninvestigated. Here, we cloned <i>CmBBX22</i> and further determined the function of <i>CmBBX22</i> in response to drought treatment. Subcellular localization and transactivation assay analyses revealed that CmBBX22 was localized in the nucleus and possessed transactivation activity. Overexpression of <i>CmBBX22</i> in chrysanthemum was found to reduce plant drought tolerance, whereas expression of the chimeric repressor <i>CmBBX22-SRDX</i> was found to promote a higher drought tolerance than that shown by wild-type plants, indicating that <i>CmBBX22</i> negatively regulates drought tolerance in chrysanthemum. Transcriptome analysis and physiological measurements indicated the potential involvement of the <i>CmBBX22</i>-mediated ABA response, stomatal conductance, and antioxidant responses in the negative regulation of drought tolerance in chrysanthemum. Based on the findings of this study, we were thus able to establish the mechanisms whereby the transcriptional activator CmBBX22 negatively regulates drought tolerance in chrysanthemum via the regulation of the abscisic acid response, stomatal conductance, and antioxidant responses.