Isolation and identification of wheat gene TaDIS1 encoding a RING finger domain protein, which negatively regulates drought stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis

Silencing of GhSINAT5 Reduces Drought Resistance and Salt Tolerance in Cotton

The SEVEN IN ABSENTIA (SINA) E3 ubiquitin ligase is widely involved in drought and salt stress in plants. However, the biological function of the SINA proteins in cotton is still unknown. This study aimed to reveal the function of GhSINAT5 through biochemical, genetic and molecular approaches. GhSINAT5 is expressed in several tissues of cotton plants, including roots, stems, leaves and cotyledons, and its expression levels are significantly affected by polyethylene glycol, abscisic acid and sodium chloride. When GhSINAT5 was silenced in cotton plants, drought and salinity stress occurred, and the length, area and volume of the roots significantly decreased. Under drought stress, the levels of proline, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase in the GhSINAT5-silenced cotton plants were significantly lower than those in the non-silenced control plants, whereas the levels of hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde were greater. Moreover, the expression of stress-related genes in silenced plants under drought stress suggested that GhSINAT5 may play a positive role in the plant response to drought and salt stress by regulating these stress response-related genes. These findings not only deepen our understanding of the mechanisms of drought resistance in cotton but also provide potential targets for future improvements in crop stress resistance through genetic engineering.

Genomic-wide analysis reveals seven in absentia genes regulating grain development in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Seven in absentia proteins, which contain a conserved SINA domain, are involved in regulating various aspects of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and development, especially in response to environmental stresses. However, it is unclear whether TaSINA family members are involved in regulating grain development until now. In this study, the expression pattern, genomic polymorphism, and relationship with grain-related traits were analyzed for all TaSINA members. Most of the TaSINA genes identified showed higher expression levels in young wheat spikes or grains than other organs. The genomic polymorphism analysis revealed that at least 62 TaSINA genes had different haplotypes, where the haplotypes of five genes were significantly correlated with grain-related traits. Kompetitive allele-specific PCR markers were developed to confirm the single nucleotide polymorphisms in TaSINA101 and TaSINA109 among the five selected genes in a set of 292 wheat accessions. The TaSINA101-Hap II and TaSINA109-Hap II haplotypes had higher grain weight and width compared to TaSINA101-Hap I and TaSINA109-Hap I in at least three environments, respectively. The qRT-PCR assays revealed that TaSINA101 was highly expressed in the palea shell, seed coat, and embryo in young wheat grains. The TaSINA101 protein was unevenly distributed in the nucleus when transiently expressed in the protoplast of wheat. Three homozygous TaSINA101 transgenic lines in rice (Oryza sativa L.) showed higher grain weight and size compared to the wild type. These findings provide valuable insight into the biological function and elite haplotype of TaSINA family genes in wheat grain development at a genomic-wide level.

ATL Protein Family: Novel Regulators in Plant Response to Environmental Stresses

Plants actively develop intricate regulatory mechanisms to counteract the harmful effects of environmental stresses. The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, a crucial mechanism, employs E3 ligases (E3s) to facilitate the conjugation of ubiquitin to specific target substrates, effectively marking them for proteolytic degradation. E3s play critical roles in many biological processes, including phytohormonal signaling and adaptation to environmental stresses. Arabidopsis Toxicosa en Levadura (ATL) proteins, belonging to a subfamily of RING-H2 E3s, actively modulate diverse physiological processes and plant responses to environmental stresses. Despite studies on the functions of certain ATL family members in rice and Arabidopsis, most ATLs still need more comprehensive study. This review presents an overview of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), specifically focusing on the pivotal role of E3s and associated enzymes in plant development and environmental adaptation. Our study seeks to unveil the active modulation of plant responses to environmental stresses by E3s and ATLs, emphasizing the significance of ATLs within this intricate process. By emphasizing the importance of studying the roles of E3s and ATLs, our review contributes to developing more resilient plant varieties and promoting sustainable agricultural practices while establishing a research roadmap for the future.

TaSINA2B, interacting with TaSINA1D, positively regulates drought tolerance and root growth in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important food crop mainly grown in arid and semiarid regions worldwide, whose productivity is severely limited by drought stress. Although various E3 ubiquitin (Ub) ligases regulate drought stress, only a few SINA-type E3 Ub ligases are known to participate in such responses. Herein, we identified and cloned 15 TaSINAs from wheat. The transcription level of TaSINA2B was highly induced by drought, osmotic and abscisic acid treatments. Two-type promoters of TaSINA2B were found in 192 wheat accessions; furthermore wheat accessions with promoter TaSINA2BII showed a considerably higher level of drought tolerance and gene expression levels than those characterizing accessions with promoter TaSINA2BI that was mainly caused by a 64 bp insertion in its promoter. Enhanced drought tolerance of TaSINA2B-overexpressing (OE) transgenic wheat lines was found to be associated with root growth promotion. Further, an interaction between TaSINA2B and TaSINA1D was detected through yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays. And TaSINA1D-OE transgenic wheat lines showed similar drought tolerance and root growth phenotype to those observed when TaSINA2B was overexpressed. Therefore, the variation of TaSINA2B promoter contributed to the drought stress regulation, while TaSINA2B, interacting with TaSINA1D, positively regulated drought tolerance by promoting root growth.

Constitutive expression of AtSINA2 from Arabidopsis improves grain yield, seed oil and drought tolerance in transgenic soybean

The SEVEN IN Absentia (SINA), a typical member of the RING E3 ligase family, plays a crucial role in plant growth, development and response to abiotic stress. However, its biological functions in oil crops are still unknown. Previously, we reported that overexpression of AtSINA2 in Arabidopsis positively regulated the drought tolerance of transgenic plants. In this work, we demonstrate that ectopic expression of AtSINA2 in soybean improved the shoot growth, grain yield, drought tolerance and seed oil content in transgenic plants. Compared to wild type, transgenic soybean produced greater shoot biomass and grain yield, and showed improved seed oil and drought tolerance. Physiological analyses exhibited that the increased drought tolerance of transgenic plants was accompanied with a higher chlorophyll content, and a lower malondialdehyde accumulation and water loss during drought stress. Further transcriptomic analyses revealed that the expressions of genes related to plant growth, flowering and stress response were up- or down-regulated in transgenic soybean under both normal and drought stress conditions. Our findings imply that AtSINA2 improved both agricultural production and drought tolerance, and it can be used as a candidate gene for the genetic engineering of new soybean cultivars with improved grain yield and drought resistance.

Genome-wide identification, new classification, expression analysis and screening of drought & heat resistance related candidates in the RING zinc finger gene family of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Background

RING (Really Interesting New Gene) zinc finger (RING-zf) proteins belong to an important subclass of zinc fingers superfamily, which play versatile roles during various developmental stages and in abiotic stress responses. Based on the conserved cysteine and histidine residues, the RING-zf domains are classified into RING-HC (C3HC4), RING-H2 (C3H2C3), RING-v, RING-D, RING-S/T, RING-G, and RING-C2. However, little is known about the function of the RING-zfs of wheat.

Results

In this study, 129 (93.5%) of 138 members were found in nucleus, indicating TaRING-zf were primarily engaged in the degradation of transcription factors and other nuclear-localized proteins. 138 TaRING-zf domains can be divided into four canonical or modified types (RING-H2, RING-HC, RING-D, and RING-M). The RING-M was newly identified in T. aestivum, and might represent the intermediate other states between RING-zf domain and other modified domains. The consensus sequence of the RING-M domain can be described as M-X₂-R-X₁₄-Cys-X₁-H-X₂-Cys-X₂-Cys-X₁₀-Cys-X₂-Cys. Further interspecies collinearity analyses showed that TaRING-zfs were more closely related to the genes in Poaceae. According to the public transcriptome data, most of the TaRING-zfs were expressed at different 15 stages of plant growth, development, and some of them exhibited specific responses to drought/heat stress. Moreover, 4 RING-HC (TraesCS2A02G526800.1, TraesCS4A02G290600.1, TraesCS4B02G023600.1 and TraesCS4D02G021200.1) and 2 RING-H2 (TraesCS3A02G288900.1 and TraesCS4A02G174600.1) were significantly expressed at different development stages and under drought stress. These findings provide valuable reference data for further study of their physiological functions in wheat varieties.

Conclusions

Taken together, the characterization and classifications of the TaRING-zf family were extensively studied and some new features about it were revealed. This study could provide some valuable targets for further studies on their functions in growth and development, and abiotic stress responses in wheat.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-022-08905-x.

Membrane-bound transcription factor TaNTL1 positively regulates drought stress tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis

Drought negatively affects plant growth and development to cause major yield losses in crops. Transcription factors (TFs) play important roles in abiotic stress response signaling in plant. However, the biological functions of membrane-bound transcription factors (MTFs) in abiotic stress have rarely been studied in wheat. In this study, we identified a homologue of the maize ZmNTL1 gene in wheat, which was designated as TaNTL1. TaNTL1 is a NAC family MTF (NTM1-like, NTL proteins) encoding 481 amino acid residues with a transmembrane motif at the C-terminal. Quantitative results and expression profile analysis showed that TaNTL1 could respond to drought. We demonstrated the transcriptional activity of TaNTL1 and that it could specifically bind to NAC recognition cis-acting elements (NACBS). The full-length TaNTL1 protein localized in the plasma membrane and TaNTL1 lacking the transmembrane motif (TaNTL1-ΔTM) localized in the nucleus. TaNTL1 was proteolytically activated by PEG6000 and abscisic acid (ABA). Phenotypic and physiological analyses showed that overexpression transgenic Arabidopsis exhibited enhanced drought resistance, which was greater with TaNTL1-ΔTM than TaNTL1. Transient silencing of TaNTL1 significantly reduced the resistance to drought stress in wheat. Germination by the TaNTL1 and TaNTL1-ΔTM transgenic Arabidopsis seeds was also hypersensitive to ABA. Most of the stress-related genes in transgenic plants were upregulated under drought conditions. These results suggest that MTF TaNTL1 is a positive regulator of drought and it may function by entering the nucleus through cleavage.

TaNBR1, a Novel Wheat NBR1-like Domain Gene Negatively Regulates Drought Stress Tolerance in Transgenic Arabidopsis

Drought stress is an important factor that severely affects crop yield and quality. Autophagy has a crucial role in the responses to abiotic stresses. In this study, we explore TaNBR1 in response to drought stress. Expression of the TaNBR1 gene was strongly induced by NaCl, PEG, and abscisic acid treatments. The TaNBR1 protein is localized in the Golgi apparatus and autophagosome. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing TaNBR1 exhibited reduced drought tolerance. When subjected to drought stress, compared to the wild-type (WT) lines, the transgenic overexpressing TaNBR1 plants had a lower seed germination rate, relative water content, proline content, and reduced accumulation of antioxidant enzymes, i.e., superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase, as well as higher chlorophyll losses, malondialdehyde contents, and water loss. The transgenic plants overexpressing TaNBR1 produced much shorter roots in response to mannitol stress, in comparison to the WT plants, and they exhibited greater sensitivity to abscisic acid treatment. The expression levels of the genes related to stress in the transgenic plants were affected in response to drought stress. Our results indicate that TaNBR1 negatively regulates drought stress responses by affecting the expression of stress-related genes in Arabidopsis.

RING Zinc Finger Proteins in Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance

RING zinc finger proteins have a conserved RING domain, mainly function as E3 ubiquitin ligases, and play important roles in plant growth, development, and the responses to abiotic stresses such as drought, salt, temperature, reactive oxygen species, and harmful metals. RING zinc finger proteins act in abiotic stress responses mainly by modifying and degrading stress-related proteins. Here, we review the latest progress in research on RING zinc finger proteins, including their structural characteristics, classification, subcellular localization, and physiological functions, with an emphasis on abiotic stress tolerance. Under abiotic stress, RING zinc finger proteins on the plasma membrane may function as sensors or abscisic acid (ABA) receptors in abiotic stress signaling. Some RING zinc finger proteins accumulate in the nucleus may act like transcription factors to regulate the expression of downstream abiotic stress marker genes through direct or indirect ways. Most RING zinc finger proteins usually accumulate in the cytoplasm or nucleus and act as E3 ubiquitin ligases in the abiotic stress response through ABA, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and ethylene signaling pathways. We also highlight areas where further research on RING zinc finger proteins in plants is needed.

Plant E3 Ligases and Their Role in Abiotic Stress Response

Plants, as sessile organisms, have limited means to cope with environmental changes. Consequently, they have developed complex regulatory systems to ameliorate abiotic stresses im-posed by environmental changes. One such system is the ubiquitin proteasome pathway, which utilizes E3 ligases to target proteins for proteolytic degradation via the 26S proteasome. Plants ex-press a plethora of E3 ligases that are categorized into four major groups depending on their structure. They are involved in many biological and developmental processes in plants, such as DNA repair, photomorphogenesis, phytohormones signaling, and biotic stress. Moreover, many E3 ligase targets are proteins involved in abiotic stress responses, such as salt, drought, heat, and cold. In this review, we will provide a comprehensive overview of E3 ligases and their substrates that have been connected with abiotic stress in order to illustrate the diversity and complexity of how this pathway enables plant survival under stress conditions.

Roles of E3 Ubiquitin Ligases in Plant Responses to Abiotic Stresses

Plants are frequently exposed to a variety of abiotic stresses, such as those caused by salt, drought, cold, and heat. All of these stressors can induce changes in the proteoforms, which make up the proteome of an organism. Of the many different proteoforms, protein ubiquitination has attracted a lot of attention because it is widely involved in the process of protein degradation; thus regulates many plants molecular processes, such as hormone signal transduction, to resist external stresses. Ubiquitin ligases are crucial in substrate recognition during this ubiquitin modification process. In this review, the molecular mechanisms of plant responses to abiotic stresses from the perspective of ubiquitin ligases have been described. This information is critical for a better understanding of plant molecular responses to abiotic stresses.

TRAF proteins as key regulators of plant development and stress responses

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor (TRAF) proteins are conserved in higher eukaryotes and play key roles in transducing cellular signals across different organelles. They are characterized by their C-terminal region (TRAF-C domain) containing seven to eight anti-parallel β-sheets, also known as the meprin and TRAF-C homology (MATH) domain. Over the past few decades, significant progress has been made toward understanding the diverse roles of TRAF proteins in mammals and plants. Compared to other eukaryotic species, the Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa) genomes encode many more TRAF/MATH domain-containing proteins; these plant proteins cluster into five classes: TRAF/MATH-only, MATH-BPM, MATH-UBP (ubiquitin protease), Seven in absentia (SINA), and MATH-Filament and MATH-PEARLI-4 proteins, suggesting parallel evolution of TRAF proteins in plants. Increasing evidence now indicates that plant TRAF proteins form central signaling networks essential for multiple biological processes, such as vegetative and reproductive development, autophagosome formation, plant immunity, symbiosis, phytohormone signaling, and abiotic stress responses. Here, we summarize recent advances and highlight future prospects for understanding on the molecular mechanisms by which TRAF proteins act in plant development and stress responses.

RING E3 ubiquitin ligase TaSADR1 negatively regulates drought resistance in transgenic Arabidopsis

Drought stress is an important factor that affects crop yields and quality. E3 ubiquitin ligase has crucial roles in the responses to abiotic stresses. However, few studies have investigated the role of E3 ubiquitin ligase during drought stress in wheat. In this study, we cloned and identified the orthologous gene of Oryza sativa Salt-, ABA- and Drought-Induced RING Finger Protein 1 (OsSADR1) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) called TaSADR1. TaSADR1 encodes a protein containing 486 amino acids with a C3HC4 type RING finger conserved domain at the N-terminal. We confirmed that TaSADR1 has an E3 ubiquitin ligase activity and it is located in the nucleus. High expression of TaSADR1 was induced by treatment with PEG6000 and abscisic acid (ABA). TaSADR1-overexpressing transgenic Arabidopsis plants exhibited decreased drought tolerance. Under drought stress, compared with the wild-type (WT) lines, TaSADR1-overexpressing transgenic Arabidopsis lines had lower proline and chlorophyll contents, and antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase), whereas the water loss rate, malondialdehyde content, and relative electrolyte leakage were higher. In addition, the overexpressing transgenic Arabidopsis lines were more sensitive to mannitol and ABA treatment at seed germination and during seedling growth. The expression levels of genes related to stress were downregulated under drought conditions in the transgenic plants. Our results demonstrate that TaSADR1 may negatively regulate drought stress responses by regulating the expression of stress-related genes.

TaFDL2-1A interacts with TabZIP8-7A protein to cope with drought stress via the abscisic acid signaling pathway

Drought has negative effects on cereal production. Studies have shown that many basic leucine zipper transcription factors (bZIP TFs) help to cope with drought stress. In this study, bZIP TF wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) FD-Like2 (TaFDL2) was isolated and functionally analyzed. Three homologs of TaFDL2 were identified and their expression was induced by drought and abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. TaFDL2-1A has transactivation activity and two activation domains, and the domain D region has different effects on the transcriptional activity of the two domains. Analysis of TaFDL2-1A overexpression plants indicated their enhanced drought tolerance and greater sensitivity to ABA. TabZIP8-7A was identified as a protein that interacts with TaFDL2-1A in the nucleus, and the overexpression of TabZIP8-7A conferred greater drought resistance and ABA sensitivity in Arabidopsis. Surprisingly, TaFDL2-1A × TabZIP8-7A double overexpression lines exhibited the highest drought resistance. Genetic and transcriptional regulation analyses demonstrated that stress-response gene transcription was initiated by TaFDL2-1A or TabZIP8-7A via the ABA signaling pathway. Importantly, TaFDL2-1A and TabZIP8-7A synergistically promoted ABA-inducible gene expression in a more efficient manner to form the transcriptional activation complex. Our findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms that allow bZIP TFs to regulate ABA signaling in response to drought stress.

Biostimulant impacts of Glutacetine® and derived formulations (VNT1 and VNT4) on the bread wheat grain proteome

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is essential to ensure grain yield and quality in bread wheat. Improving N use efficiency is therefore crucial for wheat grain protein quality. In the present work, we analysed the effects on the winter wheat grain proteome of biostimulants containing Glutacetine® or two derived formulations (VNT1 and 4) when mixed with urea-ammonium-nitrate fertilizer. A large-scale quantitative proteomics analysis of two wheat flour fractions produced a dataset of 4369 identified proteins. Quantitative analysis revealed 9, 39 and 96 proteins with a significant change in abundance after Glutacetine®, VNT1 and VNT4 treatments, respectively, with a common set of 11 proteins that were affected by two different biostimulants. The major effects impacted proteins involved in (i) protein synthesis regulation (mainly ribosomal and binding proteins), (ii) defence and responses to stresses (including chitin-binding protein, heat shock 70 kDa protein 1 and glutathione S-transferase proteins), (iii) storage functions related to gluten protein alpha-gliadins and starch synthase and (iv) seed development with proteins implicated in protease activity, energy machinery, and the C and N metabolism pathways. Altogether, our study showed that Glutacetine®, VNT1 and VNT4 biostimulants positively affected protein composition related to grain quality. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD021513. SIGNIFICANCE: We performed a large-scale quantitative proteomics study of the total protein extracts from flour samples to determine the effect of Glutacetine®-based biostimulants treatment on the protein composition of bread wheat grain. To our knowledge, only a few studies in the literature have applied proteomic approaches to study bread wheat grains and in particular to investigate the effect of biostimulants on the grain proteome of this cereal crop. In addition, most approaches used fractional extraction of proteins to target reserve proteins followed electrophoresis which leads to low identification rate of proteins. We identified and quantified a large protein dataset of 4369 proteins and determined ontological class of proteins affected by biostimulants treatments. Our proteomics investigation revealed the important role of these new biostimulants in achieving significant changes in protein synthesis regulation, storage functions, protease activity, energy machinery, C and N metabolism pathways and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses in grain.

Review: Biological functions of major latex-like proteins in plants

Major latex-like proteins (MLPs) have been identified in dicots and monocots. They are members of the birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 family as well as pathogenesis-related proteins class 10. MLPs have two main features. One is binding affinity toward various hydrophobic compounds, such as long-chain fatty acids, steroids, and systemic acquired resistance signals, via its internal hydrophobic cavity or hydrophobic residues on its surface. MLPs transport such compounds to other organs via phloem and xylem vessels and contribute to the expression of physiologically important ligands' activity in the particular organs. The second feature is responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. MLPs are involved in drought and salt tolerance through the mediation of plant hormone signaling pathways. MLPs generate resistance against pathogens by the induction of pathogenesis-related protein genes. Therefore, MLPs play crucial roles in drought and salt tolerance and resistance against pathogens. However, knowledge of MLPs is fragmented, and an overview of them is needed. Herein, we summarize the current knowledge of the biological functions of MLPs, which to our knowledge, is the first review about MLPs that has been reported.

Wheat RING E3 ubiquitin ligase TaDIS1 degrade TaSTP via the 26S proteasome pathway

Drought stress has a great impact on wheat yields. The ubiquitin/26S proteasome system is one of the most important mechanisms employed by plants for responding to stress. E3 ubiquitin ligase is an important part of the ubiquitin/26S proteasome system. In wheat, the mechanism of E3 ubiquitin ligase TaDIS1 has not been investigated in great detail. In this study, TaSTP was identified as an interacting partner using yeast two-hybrid screening. The results obtained from bimolecular fluorescence complementation, pull-down, and co-immunoprecipitation assays also demonstrated that TaDIS1 interacts with TaSTP. In vitro ubiquitination assays showed that TaDIS1 has an E3 ubiquitin ligase activity and the results based on two TaDIS1 mutants suggested that the RING domain is essential for its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. In addition, we used MG132 to show that TaSTP can be degraded by TaDIS1 via the 26S proteasome pathway. The transcript levels of TaSTP showed that it can also respond to different abiotic stresses, such as drought, salt, and abscisic acid treatment. RING E3 ubiquitin ligase TaDIS1 may through the posttranslational regulation of TaSTP to play an important role in drought tolerance.

Research Progress on Plant RING-Finger Proteins

E3 ubiquitin ligases are the most expanded components of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). They mediate the recognition of substrates and later transfer the ubiquitin (Ub) of the system. Really Interesting New Gene (RING) finger proteins characterized by the RING domain, which contains 40–60 residues, are thought to be E3 ubiquitin ligase. RING-finger proteins play significant roles in plant growth, stress resistance, and signal transduction. In this study, we mainly describe the structural characteristics, classifications, and subcellular localizations of RING-finger proteins, as well the physiological processes of RING-finger proteins in plant growth and development. We also summarize the functions of plant RING-finger proteins in plant stress resistance. Finally, further research on plant RING-finger proteins is suggested, thereby establishing a strong foundation for the future study of plant RING-finger proteins.

The ubiquitin-proteasome system in plant responses to environments

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is a rapid regulatory mechanism for selective protein degradation in plants and plays crucial roles in growth and development. There is increasing evidence that the UPS is also an integral part of plant adaptation to environmental stress, such as drought, salinity, cold, nutrient deprivation and pathogens. This review focuses on recent studies illustrating the important functions of the UPS components E2s, E3s and subunits of the proteasome and describes the regulation of proteasome activity during plant responses to environment stimuli. The future research hotspots and the potential for utilization of the UPS to improve plant tolerance to stress are discussed.

Identification of Two Novel Wheat Drought Tolerance-Related Proteins by Comparative Proteomic Analysis Combined with Virus-Induced Gene Silencing

Drought is a major adversity that limits crop yields. Further exploration of wheat drought tolerance-related genes is critical for the genetic improvement of drought tolerance in this crop. Here, comparative proteomic analysis of two wheat varieties, XN979 and LA379, with contrasting drought tolerance was conducted to screen for drought tolerance-related proteins/genes. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technology was used to verify the functions of candidate proteins. A total of 335 differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) were exclusively identified in the drought-tolerant variety XN979. Most DAPs were mainly involved in photosynthesis, carbon fixation, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, and several other pathways. Two DAPs (W5DYH0 and W5ERN8), dubbed TaDrSR1 and TaDrSR2, respectively, were selected for further functional analysis using VIGS. The relative electrolyte leakage rate and malonaldehyde content increased significantly, while the relative water content and proline content significantly decreased in the TaDrSR1- and TaDrSR2-knock-down plants compared to that in non-knocked-down plants under drought stress conditions. TaDrSR1- and TaDrSR2-knock-down plants exhibited more severe drooping and wilting phenotypes than non-knocked-down plants under drought stress conditions, suggesting that the former were more sensitive to drought stress. These results indicate that TaDrSR1 and TaDrSR2 potentially play vital roles in conferring drought tolerance in common wheat.