A combination of the Arabidopsis DREB1A gene and stress-inducible rd29A promoter improved drought- and low-temperature stress tolerance in tobacco by gene transfer.

The transcription factor DREB1A/CBF3 specifically interacts with the dehydration responsive element (DRE/CRT) and induces expression of genes involved in environmental stress tolerance in Arabidopsis: Overexpression of DREB1A improved drought- and low-temperature stress tolerance in tobacco. The stress-inducible rd29A promoter minimized the negative effects on the plant growth in tobacco. Furthermore, we detected overexpression of stress-inducible target genes of DREB1A in tobacco. These results indicate that a combination of the rd29A promoter and DREB1A is useful for improvement of various kinds of transgenic plants that are tolerant to environmental stress.