Molecular characterization and function analysis of SlNAC2 in Suaeda liaotungensis K.

• SlNAC2 contained NAC domains and belonged to ATAF subgroup.
• SlNAC2 was induced by salt, drought, low temperature stress and ABA.
• SlNAC2 localized to the nucleu and can activate expression of reporter gene.
• SlNAC2-overexpressing Arabidopsis showed improved tolerance to salt stress.

The plant-specific NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC) transcription factors have diverse roles in plant development and stress responses. In this study, a stress-responsive NAC gene, SlNAC2, was isolated and characterized from high-throughput Solexa sequencing of Suaeda liaotungensis. SlNAC2 showed high similarity to other NACs, especially ATAF subgroup members. Transcripts of SlNAC2 appeared in many Suaeda tissues including leaves, stems and roots. In particular, SlNAC2 was strongly expressed in leaves. Expression analysis showed that SlNAC2 was highly induced during salt and low temperature stress in leaves. Subcellular localization showed that the SlNAC2 protein localized to the nucleus. A transactivation assay in yeast demonstrated that SlNAC2 activated the expression of a reporter gene. To test its function, SlNAC2 was transformed into Arabidopsis under the control of the CaMV-35S promoter. Functional analysis showed that its overexpression resulted in enhanced tolerance to salinity stress. Therefore, SlNAC2 is a multifunctional regulatory factor in plants, and might be a good candidate gene for genetic improvement to produce stress tolerant plants.