Xinguo Mao

Publications (16) View all

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  Available from: Xinguo Mao

  Article: Cloning and characterization of TaSnRK2.3, a novel SnRK2 gene in common wheat.

  Shanjun Tian, Xinguo Mao, Hongying Zhang, Shuangshuang Chen, Chaochao Zhai, Shimin Yang, Ruilian Jing
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  ABSTRACT: Environmental stresses such as drought, salinity, and cold are major adverse factors that significantly affect agricultural productivity. Protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation is a major signalling event induced by osmotic stress in higher plants. Sucrose non-fermenting 1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) family members play essential roles in the response to hyperosmotic stresses in plants. In this study, the TaSnRK2.3 gene, a novel SnRK2 member was cloned, and three copies located on chromosomes 1A, 1B, and 1D were identified in common wheat. TaSnRK2.3 was strongly expressed in leaves, and responded to polyethylene glycol, NaCl, abscisic acid, and cold stresses. To characterize its function, transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing TaSnRK2.3-GFP controlled by the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter was generated and subjected to severe abiotic stresses. Overexpression of TaSnRK2.3 resulted in an improved root system and significantly enhanced tolerance to drought, salt, and freezing stresses, simultaneously demonstrated by enhanced expression of abiotic stress-responsive genes and ameliorative physiological indices, including a decreased rate of water loss, enhanced cell membrane stability, improved photosynthetic potential, and significantly increased osmotic potential and free proline content under normal and/or stressed conditions. These results demonstrate that TaSnRK2.3 is a multifunctional regulator, with potential for utilization in transgenic breeding for improved abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants.
  Journal of Experimental Botany 04/2013; 64(7):2063-80. · 5.36 Impact Factor
• Article: Polymorphism of TaSAP1-A1 and its association with agronomic traits in wheat.

  Jianzhong Chang, Jianan Zhang, Xinguo Mao, Ang Li, Jizeng Jia, Ruilian Jing
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  ABSTRACT: TaSAP1, a member of the stress association protein (SAP) gene family from wheat, is involved in response to several abiotic stresses, including drought, salt and cold. In this study, TaSAP1-A1, a TaSAP1 member on chromosome 7A, and its flanking sequences were isolated. Polymorphism analysis indicated that the average nucleotide diversity (π) of the whole region was 0.00296. The highest nucleotide diversity occurred in the promoter region (π = 0.00631) and no polymorphism was identified in the coding region. Three markers T7AM5, T7AM2606 and T7AM39 located in the promoter region, were developed from sequence variations (InDel5-1810, SNP-2606 and InDel39-1637). Six haplotypes were identified among 300 accessions based on the three markers. TaSAP1-A1 was located on chromosome 7A using marker T7AM39 and was flanked by markers Xwmc530 and Xbarc174. QTL for yield-related traits, including 1,000-grain weight, number of grains per spike and grain yield, were located in the same region. In marker- and haplotype-trait association analyses, TaSAP1-A1 was significantly associated with 1,000-grain weight, number of grains per spike, spike length, peduncle length and total number of spikelets per spike in multiple environments. These results provide useful information for marker-assisted selection for yield-related traits under well-watered and drought-stressed conditions.
  Planta 03/2013; · 3.00 Impact Factor
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  Dataset: Genetic diversity analysis of abiotic stress response gene TaSnRK2.7-A in common wheat

  Jianan Zhang, Xinguo Mao, Ruilian Jing, Chengshe Wang, Xiaoping Chang, Hongying Zhang
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  Article: TaNAC2, a NAC-type wheat transcription factor conferring enhanced multiple abiotic stress tolerances in Arabidopsis.

  Xinguo Mao, Hongying Zhang, Xueya Qian, Ang Li, Guangyao Zhao, Ruilian Jing
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  ABSTRACT: Environmental stresses such as drought, salinity, and cold are major factors that significantly limit agricultural productivity. NAC transcription factors play essential roles in response to various abiotic stresses. However, the paucity of wheat NAC members functionally characterized to date does not match the importance of this plant as a world staple crop. Here, the function of TaNAC2 was characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana. A fragment of TaNAC2 was obtained from suppression subtractive cDNA libraries of wheat treated with polyethylene glycol, and its full-length cDNA was obtained by searching a full-length wheat cDNA library. Gene expression profiles indicated that TaNAC2 was involved in response to drought, salt, cold, and abscisic acid treatment. To test its function, transgenic Arabidopsis lines overexpressing TaNAC2-GFP controlled by the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter were generated. Overexpression of TaNAC2 resulted in enhanced tolerances to drought, salt, and freezing stresses in Arabidopsis, which were simultaneously demonstrated by enhanced expression of abiotic stress-response genes and several physiological indices. Therefore, TaNAC2 has potential for utilization in transgenic breeding to improve abiotic stress tolerances in crops.
  Journal of Experimental Botany 02/2012; 63(8):2933-46. · 5.36 Impact Factor
• Article: Genetic diversity analysis of abiotic stress response gene TaSnRK2.7-A in common wheat.

  Hongying Zhang, Xinguo Mao, Jianan Zhang, Xiaoping Chang, Chengshe Wang, Ruilian Jing
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  ABSTRACT: Sucrose non-fermenting1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) plays a key role in plant stress signaling transduction pathways. In this study, one copy of TaSnRK2.7, a SnRK2 member of common wheat, was isolated and characterized for nucleotide diversity among 45 wheat accessions with different stress-response features. Most of the accessions were elite wheat cultivars, which had been subject to population bottlenecks and intensive selection during breeding. Nucleotide and haplotype diversity across the entire TaSnRK2.7-A region was 0.00076 and 0.590, respectively, and diversity in non-coding regions was higher than that in coding regions. Sliding-window analysis showed variable levels of nucleotide variation along the entire TaSnRK2.7-A region; the sixth intron and ninth exon represented variation-enriched regions. As predicted, neutrality tests revealed that population bottlenecks or purifying selection had acted on the TaSnRK2.7-A gene, a relatively conserved gene. Furthermore, strong linkage disequilibrium between SNP loci extends across the entire TaSnRK2.7-A region. These findings demonstrate that the TaSnRK2.7-A genomic region has evolved under extensive selection pressure during crop breeding.
  Genetica 06/2011; 139(6):743-53. · 2.15 Impact Factor