Peanut ethylene-responsive element binding factor (AhERF6) improves cold and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis

The growth and yield of peanut are seriously affected by abiotic stresses including cold and salt. In this study, to investigate the stress-related genes of peanut, the function of ethylene-responsive element binding factor (ERF) AhERF6 cloned from peanut was studied under cold and salt stresses. The results indicated that the over-expression of AhERF6 in Arabidopsis could enhance the resistance of transgenic plants to cold and salt stresses. The expression of stress-response genes RD29A, COR15A and KIN1 increased in transgenic plants compared with in wild-type, while there was no significant difference in CBF3 expression. The transcriptional activation experiment indicated that the AhERF6 protein had transcriptional activity, suggesting that it positively regulated the response to cold and salt stresses as a transcription factor in Arabidopsis. This study provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the molecular mechanism of stress resistance in peanut and for providing new genetic resources for molecular breeding.