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ARID4 Modulates Stomatal ABA Signaling and Stress-Responsive Gene Expression to Confer Drought Tolerance in Arabidopsis

Zhang, Z.;Shao, Z.;Yang, Y.;Ye, L.;Liu, Y.;Xia, Y.;Qin, T.;Xiong, L.

2026-06-16 Plant Biology
10.64898/2026.06.16.732254 bioRxiv
Show abstract

To identify novel regulators of plant drought tolerance, we performed a forward genetic screen using thermal infrared imaging to detect alterations in leaf temperature, a proxy for transpiration. This screen identified AT-rich Interacting Domain Protein 4 (ARID4), a protein involved in chromatin remodeling, as a modulator of transpiration. arid4 loss-of-function mutants exhibited cooler leaves, increased water loss from detached leaves, and heightened susceptibility to drought relative to wild-type plants. Stomata of arid4 mutants were hyposensitive to abscisic acid (ABA), displaying reduced ABA-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and impaired stomatal closure. Transcriptome profiling under drought revealed extensive misregulation of genes involved in stress-responses, redox homeostasis, iron acquisition, and photosynthesis. These findings indicate that ARID4 modulates the expression of key regulatory genes to maintain redox homeostasis and photosynthetic efficiency, thereby conferring drought stress tolerance.

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