Long terminal repeats (LTR) and transcription factors regulate PHRE1 and PHRE2 activity in Moso bamboo under heat stress

BACKGROUND: LTR retrotransposons play a significant role in plant growth, genome evolution, and environmental stress response, but their regulatory response to heat stress remains unclear. We have investigated the activities of two LTR retrotransposons, PHRE1 and PHRE2, of moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) in response to heat stress. RESULTS: The differential overexpression of PHRE1 and PHRE2 with or without CaMV35s promoter showed enhanced expression under heat stress in transgenic plants. The transcriptional activity studies showed an increase in transposition activity and copy number among moso bamboo wild type and Arabidopsis transgenic plants under heat stress. Comparison of promoter activity in transgenic plants indicated that 5’LTR promoter activity was higher than CaMV35s promoter. Additionally, yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) system and in planta biomolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assay revealed interactions of heat-dependent transcription factors (TFs) with 5’LTR sequence and direct interactions of TFs with pol and gag. CONCLUSIONS: Our results conclude that the 5’LTR acts as a promoter and could regulate the LTR retrotransposons in moso bamboo under heat stress. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12870-021-03339-1.