Enhanced thermotolerance of Arabidopsis by chitooligosaccharides-induced CERK1n-ERc fusion gene.

Heat stress is a major growth-limiting factor for most crops over the world. Chitin elicitor receptor kinase 1 (CERK1) is a chitin/chitooligosaccharides receptor, andERECTA(ER) plays a crucial role in plant resistance to heat stress. In the present study, a chitooligosaccharides-inducedCERK1n-ERcfusion gene was designed and synthesized, in which the extracellular domain and transmembrane domain ofCERK1gene is connected with the response region ofERgene. We successfully constructed theCERK1n-ERcfusion gene by Overlap PCR and introduced it intoArabidopsisbyAgrobacterium-medicatedinfection. Genetically modified (GM) plants had a greater germination rate and germination index, as well as a shorter mean germination time, indicating that they had a better thermotolerance compared with the wild-type (WT) lines under heat stress. Moreover, the GM lines showed a lower level of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and relative electrolyte leakage (REL), suggesting that they were in better state compared with the WT plants when exposed to high temperature. UPLC-MS/MS was employed to assess the phytohormone level, suggesting that the GM lines acquired a better thermotolerance via jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathways. In general, we constructed a COS-induced fusion gene to enhance the thermotolerance ofArabidopsisduring seed germination and postgermination growth.