| Summary: | Abscisic acid (ABA) regulates plant responses to abiotic stresses via regulating the expression of downstream genes, yet the functions of many ABA responsive genes remain unknown. We report here the characterization of <i>MYB71</i>, a R2R3 MYB transcription factor in regulating ABA responses in <i>Arabidopsis</i>. RT-PCR results show that the expression level of <i>MYB71</i> was increased in response to ABA treatment. <i>Arabidopsis</i> protoplasts transfection results show that <i>MYB71</i> was specifically localized in nucleus and it activated the <i>Gal4:GUS</i> reporter gene when recruited to the <i>Gal4</i> promoter by a fused DNA binding domain GD. Roles of <i>MYB71</i> in regulating plant response to ABA were analyzed by generating <i>Arabidopsis</i> transgenic plants overexpression <i>MYB71</i> and gene edited mutants of <i>MYB71</i>. The results show that ABA sensitivity was increased in the transgenic plants overexpression <i>MYB71</i>, but decreased in the <i>MYB71</i> mutants. By using a DEX inducible system, we further identified genes are likely regulated by <i>MYB71</i>, and found that they are enriched in biological process to environmental stimuli including abiotic stresses, suggesting that <i>MYB71</i> may regulate plant response to abiotic stresses. Taken together, our results suggest that <i>MYB71</i> is an ABA responsive gene, and <i>MYB71</i> functions as a transcription activator and it positively regulates ABA response in <i>Arabidopsis</i>.
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