Abstract
Terpenes play crucial roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. The biosynthesis of terpenes is influenced by abiotic stress factors, such as drought, temperature, or light. However, the molecular network underlying how terpenes are regulated in response to environmental stimuli remains largely unknown. Here, we identified the autophagy protein SgATG8a as a key mediator of GABA-regulated terpene production and drought tolerance in Sindora glabra. SgATG8a, evolutionarily related to the animal GABA receptor-associated protein (GABARAP) subfamily, localizes in both the nucleus and cytoplasm. Exogenous GABA treatment not only increased the expression level of terpene synthase genes (SgTPSs) but also led to enhanced accumulation of six main terpene components in Sindora glabra. In addition, GABA alleviated the photosynthesis damage and enhanced leaf biomass under drought conditions. Consistently, overexpression of SgATG8a in Arabidopsis increased terpene synthase gene (SgTPS) expression, leading to the enhanced production of four major terpenes and improved the tolerance of transgenic plants to drought stress by regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging systems. Moreover, the transcription factors SgWRKY13 and SgERF4 were identified as interacting partners of SgATG8a, activating SgTPS3 expression. Lectin receptor-like kinase (LecRK1) is involved in the GABA-mediated pathway by interacting with the SgWRKY13/SgERF4-SgATG8a proteins, and the LecRK1-SgWRKY13/SgERF4 phosphorylation module fine-tunes the transcription of the downstream SgTPS3 gene. Taken together, these findings reveal a novel role for GABA in regulating terpene biosynthesis and drought tolerance, providing insights into the molecular mechanism underlying GABA-mediated terpene production.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e70232 |
| Journal | Plant Journal |
| Volume | 122 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 2025 |
Funding
The authors thank Hai-Xi Sun for helpful suggestions. This research was supported by funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32471902) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2024A1515030223 and 2025A1515012037). This research was partially supported by the Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), which is a U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science under Award Number ERKP886. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC for the US DOE under Contract Number DE-AC05-00OR22725. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). This manuscript has been authored by UT‐Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE‐AC05‐00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non‐exclusive, paid‐up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe‐public‐access‐plan ). The authors thank Hai‐Xi Sun for helpful suggestions. This research was supported by funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32471902) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2024A1515030223 and 2025A1515012037). This research was partially supported by the Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), which is a U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science under Award Number ERKP886. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT‐Battelle, LLC for the US DOE under Contract Number DE‐AC05‐00OR22725.
Keywords
- autophagy protein
- GABA
- Sesquiterpene biosynthesis
- Sindora glabra
- terpene synthase