A ZFP252 regulated E3-ubiquitin ligase OsRING1 involves salt and drought stresses in rice ( Oryza sativa L.)

Zinc finger proteins play important roles in plant growth, development and stress responses. ZFP252, a C2H2-type zinc finger protein, has been reported to be critical in rice responses to salt and drought stresses. However, the molecular mechanism of ZFP252 in stress tolerance was still unclear. In the present study, the transcriptome profiling of ZFP252- overexpression transgenic rice was analyzed by microarray and 187 genes (70 up- and 117 down-regulated) differentially expressed in the transgenic plants. Among these genes, Os02g0759400 encoding a RING zinc finger protein, OsRING1, was significantly up-regulated in transgenic plants. OsRING1 was also induced under both salt and drought stresses. Furthermore, the proteome of ZFP252- overexpression transgenic rice was analyzed via two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). Compared with the wild type, 4 up-regulated and 16 down-regulated proteins, which were functionally involved in detoxification, defense response or basic metabolism, were identified. In summary, the ZFP252-mediated molecular responses to salt and drought stresses were investigated both in transcriptome and proteome levels and our work provides a foundation of zinc finger protein mediated stress tolerance in rice.