Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026

Author Spotlight: Polysome Profiling Protocol for Studying Translational Regulation in Arabidopsis Under Heat Stress
Published on: October 11, 2024
Functional characterization of Arabidopsis HsfA6a as a heat-shock transcription factor under high salinity and
Sung Min Hwang1, Dae Won Kim, Min Seok Woo
1Division of Applied Life Sciences (BK21+), Graduate School of Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, 660-701, Korea; Research Center for Biobased Chemistry, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Deajeon, 305-600, Korea.
Abstract:
Although heat-shock transcription factors are well characterized in the heat stress-related pathway, they are poorly understood in other stress responses. Here, we functionally characterized AtHsfA6a in the presence of exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) and under high salinity and dehydration conditions. AtHsfA6a expression under normal conditions is very low, but was highly induced by exogenous ABA, NaCl and drought. Unexpectedly, the levels of AtHsfA6a transcript were not significantly altered under heat and cold stresses. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and transient transactivation assays indicated that AtHsfA6a is transcriptionally regulated by ABA-responsive element binding factor/ABA-responsive element binding protein, which are key regulators of the ABA signalling pathway. Additionally, fractionation and protoplast transient assays showed that AtHsfA6a was in cytoplasm and nucleus simultaneously; however, under conditions of high salinity the majority of AtHsfA6A was in the nucleus. Furthermore, at both seed germination and seedlings stage, plants overexpressing AtHsfA6a were hypersensitive to ABA and exhibited enhanced tolerance against salt and drought stresses. Finally, the microarray and qRT-PCR analyses revealed that many stress-responsive genes were up-regulated in the plants overexpressing AtHsfA6a. Taken together, the data strongly suggest that AtHsfA6a acts as a transcriptional activator of stress-responsive genes via the ABA-dependent signalling pathway.
Related Concept Videos
Responses to Salt Stress
Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
Transcription
Transcription is the process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA sequence by RNA polymerase. It is the first step in producing a protein from a gene sequence. Additionally, many other proteins and regulatory sequences are involved in the proper synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA). Regulation of transcription is responsible for the differentiation of all the different types of cells and often for the proper cellular response to environmental signals.
Transcription Can Produce Different Kinds...
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Diversity of Archaea III
Diversity of Archaea IV

