TaPPR13, a Pentatricopeptide Repeat Protein Gene Activated by TaBZR2, Confers Drought Stress Tolerance by Enhancing the Antioxidant Defense System and Promoting Retrograde Signaling in Wheat (Triticum aestivum).

ABSTRACT: The wheat (Triticum aestivum) brassinazole-resistant 2 (TaBZR2) gene is identified as significantly associated with drought tolerance by genome-wide association study (GWAS), and a chloroplast pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein gene TaPPR13 functioned as a positive drought stress regulator downstream of TaBZR2. Overexpression of TaPPR13 enhanced the antioxidative defense system, whereas knockdown of TaPPR13 led to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and caused abnormalities in chloroplast thylakoids under drought stress conditions. RNA-seq analysis showed that overexpression of TaPPR13 significantly upregulated the expression of nuclear-encoded genes involved in ROS scavenging and the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway. Furthermore, TaPPR13 interacted with TaAOR1 and T

SUBMITTER: Hou ZH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12462999 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature