SbDREB2A, an A-2 type DREB transcription factor from extreme halophyte Salicornia brachiata confers abiotic stress tolerance in Escherichia coli.

Dehydration-responsive element binding (DREB) transcription factor plays a key role in plant stress signal transduction pathway. In this study, SbDREB2A has been isolated from the halophyte Salicornia brachiata. SbDREB2A cDNA is 1,062 bp long, encoding protein of 353 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 39.37 kDa and a pI of 4.98. On the basis of multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis, SbDREB2A is classified in A-2 group of the DREB family. The genomic organization confirms that SbDREB2A is an intronless gene. Purified recombinant SbDREB2A protein showed similar binding to both DREs (dehydration-responsive element), ACCGAC and GCCGAC. The transcript expression of SbDREB2A was induced by NaCl, drought and heat stress. The role of SbDREB2A in abiotic stress was studied in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The recombinant E. coli cells exhibited better growth in basal LB medium as well as in supplemented with NaCl, PEG and mannitol. The enhanced growth in recombinant E. coli could be due to the regulation of stress regulated functional genes by this transcription factor. This system can be applied in biotechnological applications, where growth of E. coli can be enhanced under salt stress for efficient recombinant protein production in a short span of time.