The Influence of Abiotic Stresses on Expression of Zinc Finger Protein Gene in Rice

We investigated the expression pattern of zinc finger protein gene in rice (Oryza sativa L.) under various abiotic stresses. This gene contains an open reading frame encoding a zinc-finger protein of 171 amino acids and is induced by various stresses, namely salinity, drought, and cold. Phylogenetic analysis based on deduced amino acid sequences of OsZFP cDNA revealed a significant sequence similarity to the zinc finger protein from diverse families of plant species. Southern blot analysis of rice genomic DNA suggested that OsZFP is encoded by a multiple-copy gene. The steady-state levels of OsZFP transcripts were found to increase in response to salinity, drought, and cold stresses. A rice zinc-finger protein gene, OsZFP, encoding the Cys2/His2-type zinc-finger transcription factor was isolated from rice using RT-PCR. The expression profiling indicated that OsZFP was constitutively expressed in leaves and roots. The Northern blotting showed that OsZFP was strongly induced by high salinity and drought, but only slightly regulated by low temperature (4 degrees C). These results suggested that the OsZFP may play an important role in rice responses to salinity, drought, and cold as a transcription factor.