A novel sweetpotato bZIP transcription factor gene, IbbZIP1, is involved in salt and drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis

KEY MESSAGE: The overexpression of IbbZIP1 leads to a significant upregulation of abiotic-related genes, suggesting that IbbZIP1 gene confers salt and drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. ABSTRACT: Basic region/leucine zipper motif (bZIP) transcription factors regulate flower development, seed maturation, pathogen defense, and stress signaling in plants. Here, we cloned a novel bZIP transcription factor gene, named IbbZIP1, from sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] line HVB-3. The full length of IbbZIP1 exhibited transactivation activity in yeast. The expression of IbbZIP1 in sweetpotato was strongly induced by NaCl, PEG6000, and abscisic acid (ABA). Its overexpression in Arabidopsis significantly enhanced salt and drought tolerance. Under salt and drought stresses, the transgenic Arabidopsis plants showed significant upregulation of the genes involved in ABA and proline biosynthesis and reactive oxygen species scavenging system, significant increase of ABA and proline contents and superoxide dismutase activity and significant decrease of H(2)O(2) content. These results demonstrate that the IbbZIP1 gene confers salt and drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. This study provides a novel bZIP gene for improving the tolerance of sweetpotato and other plants to abiotic stresses. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00299-019-02441-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.