The Rice Abscisic Acid-Responsive RING Finger E3 Ligase OsRF1 Targets OsPP2C09 for Degradation and Confers Drought and Salinity Tolerance in Rice

Drought and salinity are major important factors that restrain growth and productivity of rice. In plants, many really interesting new gene (RING) finger proteins have been reported to enhance drought and salt tolerance. However, their mode of action and interacting substrates are largely unknown. Here, we identified a new small RING-H2 type E3 ligase OsRF1, which is involved in the ABA and stress responses of rice. OsRF1 transcripts were highly induced by ABA, salt, or drought treatment. Upregulation of OsRF1 in transgenic rice conferred drought and salt tolerance and increased endogenous ABA levels. Consistent with this, faster transcriptional activation of key ABA biosynthetic genes, ZEP, NCED3, and ABA4, was observed in OsRF1-OE plants compared with wild type in response to drought stress. Yeast two-hybrid assay, BiFC, and co-immunoprecipitation analysis identified clade A PP2C proteins as direct interacting partners with OsRF1. In vitro ubiquitination assay indicated that OsRF1 exhibited E3 ligase activity, and that it targeted OsPP2C09 protein for ubiquitination and degradation. Cell-free degradation assay further showed that the OsPP2C09 protein is more rapidly degraded by ABA in the OsRF1-OE rice than in the wild type. The combined results suggested that OsRF1 is a positive player of stress responses by modulating protein stability of clade A PP2C proteins, negative regulators of ABA signaling.