Functional analysis of drought and salt tolerance mechanisms of mulberry RACK1 gene

The receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK1) protein acts as a central hub for the integration of many physiological processes in eukaryotic organisms. Plant RACK1 is implicated in abiotic stress responses, but the underlying molecular mechanisms of stress adaptation remain largely unknown. Here, the overexpression of the mulberry (Morus alba L.) RACK1 gene in Arabidopsis decreased tolerance to drought and salt stresses and MaRACK1 overexpression changed expression levels of genes in response to stress and stimuli. We developed a simple and efficient transient transformation system in mulberry, and the mulberry seedlings transiently expressing MaRACK1 were hypersensitive to drought and salt stresses. The expression levels of guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G-protein) encoding genes in mulberry and Arabidopsis were not affected by MaRACK1 overexpression. The interactions between RACK1 and G-proteins were confirmed, and the RACK1 proteins from mulberry and Arabidopsis could not interact with their respective G-proteins, which indicated that RACK1 may regulate stress responses independently of G-proteins. Additionally, MaRACK1 may regulate drought and salt stress tolerances by interacting with a fructose 1, 6-bisphosphate aldolase. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying RACK1 functions in abiotic stress responses and important information for their further characterization.