ABA-induced CCCH tandem zinc finger protein OsC3H47 decreases ABA sensitivity and promotes drought tolerance in Oryza sativa.

Water deficit causes multiple negative impacts on plants, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, abscisic acid (ABA) induction, stomatal closure, and decreased photosynthesis. Here, we characterized OsC3H47, which belongs to CCCH zinc-finger families, as a drought-stress response gene. It can be strongly induced by NaCl, PEG, ABA, and drought conditions. Overexpression of OsC3H47 significantly enhanced tolerance to drought and salt stresses in rice seedlings, which indicates that OsC3H47 plays important roles in post-stress recovery. However, overexpression of OsC3H47 reduced the ABA sensitivity of rice seedlings. This suggests that OsC3H47 is a newly discovered gene that can control rice drought-stress response, and it may play an important role in ABA feedback and post-transcription processes.