Analysis of an activated ABI5 allele using a new selection method for transgenic Arabidopsis seeds

The Arabidopsis abscisic acid (ABA) insensitive (ABI)5 transcription factor participates in the ABA-dependent induction of late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) genes in the final stages of seed development. We tested whether the VP16 transcriptional activation domain is sufficient to provide ABI5 with the ability to activate the AtEm LEA genes in vegetative tissues. We took advantage of a new transgenic seed selection assay based on green fluorescent protein (GFP) fluorescence and found that VP16-ABI5 triggered growth retardation and ABA-independent induction of AtEm1 in seedlings. These results indicate that ABI5 activation potential is a limiting step and might be a target for ABA signaling.