Isolation and characterization of a gene encoding an ethylene responsive factor protein from Ceratoides arborescens

Ethylene responsive factor (ERF) proteins play important roles in plant growth and development and regulate biotic and abiotic stress responses. In this study, a full length mRNA encoding a novel ERF-type transcription factor namely Ceratoides arborescens ERF protein (CeERF) was isolated from C. arborescens. The deduced amino acid of CeERF had a conserved APETALA2/ERF (AP2/ERF) domain which specifically binds to cis-acting elements GCC box. Under normal conditions, the expression level of CeERF was highest in leaves and lowest in roots. CeERF expression was induced by 20% PEG in a time-dependent pattern and peaked at 8 h. CeERF also acts in salt- and hormones-induced stresses. Transient expression analysis in onion epidermal cells indicated that CeERF protein localized to nucleus. Overexpression of CeERF in transgenic tobacco plants resulted in higher tolerance to abiotic stresses than in control plants. These results suggested that CeERF might play a role in abiotic stress signal transduction and that overexpression of CeERF might serve as a feasible approach to enhance resistance in forage, even crop.