Ahmed Alabd: Plant Physiology First Author

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Ahmed Alabd, first author of “ABRE-BINDING FACTOR3-WRKY DNA-BINDING PROTEIN44 module promotes salinity-induced malate accumulation in pear”

Current position:

Ph.D. Candidate at College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Education:

2018-now: Ph.D. student, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China;

20??-2016: M.Sc. Alexandria University, Egypt;

20??-2011: B.Sc. Alexandria University, Egypt.

Non-scientific interest:

Playing and watching sports, reading and cooking

Brief bio:

I’m currently studying at the College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, China. Since joining Prof Yuanwen Teng’s lab in 2018, I have been conducting research on the regulatory mechanisms of anthocyanins and malic acid in fruits under the supervision of of Prof Yuanwen Teng, Dr Songling Bai and Dr Junbei Ni. In this research, we revealed a regulatory mechanism by which salinity affects malate accumulation. Genetic and biochemical analyses showed the key roles of PpWRKY44 and ABRE-BINDING FACTOR3 (PpABF3) transcription factors in promoting malate accumulation in response to salinity. We found that PpWRKY44 is involved in salinity-induced malate accumulation by binding directly to the W-box on the promoter of the malate-associated gene PpALMT9 (aluminium-activated malate transporter 9) to activate its expression. A series of in vivo and in vitro assays showed that the G-box cis-element in the promoter of PpWRKY44 was targeted by PpABF3, which further enhanced salinity-induced malate accumulation. This research provides new insights into the regulatory mechanism of malate accumulation in pear fruit in response to salinity.

我目前在中国浙江大学农业与生物技术学院学习。自2018年进入滕元文教授实验室以来，我在滕元文教授、白松龄博士和倪隽蓓博士的指导下，开展了水果中花青苷和苹果酸的调控机制研究。在这项研究中，我们揭示了盐胁迫影响苹果酸积累的调控机制。遗传和生化分析表明，PpWRKY44和ABRE-BINDING FACTOR3（PpABF3）转录因子在促进苹果酸盐积累中发挥了关键作用。我们发现，PpWRKY44通过直接与苹果酸相关基因PpALMT9（铝激活的苹果酸转运体9）启动子上的W-box结合，激活其表达，从而参与盐分诱导的苹果酸盐积累。一系列体内和体外实验表明，PpABF3与PpWRKY44启动子中的G-box顺式元件结合，进一步增强了盐胁迫诱导的苹果酸积累。该研究为梨果实应对盐胁迫的苹果酸积累的调控机制提供了新见解。