Functional characterization of calcium-dependent protein kinase (CPK) 2 gene from oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in regulating reactive oxygen species signaling and cell death control

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CPKs), being Ser/Thr protein kinases found only in plants and some protozoans are calcium sensors that regulate diverse biological processes. However, the function and mode of CPKs in oilseed rape (Brassica napus) remain elusive. In this study, we identified CPK2 from oilseed rape as a novel regulator of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell death. BnaCPK2 was identified to be located at the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. Expression of BnaCPK2 was induced during Bax-induced cell death. Overexpression of the constitutively active form of BnaCPK2 led to significantly more accumulation of ROS and cell death than the full-length CPK2, which is supported by various measurements of physiological data. In addition, a quantitative RT-PCR survey revealed that the expression levels of a few marker genes are significantly changed as a result of CPK2 expression. Mating-based split ubiquitin system (mbSUS) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) were used to screen and confirm the BnaCPK2 interacting proteins. We identified and confirmed that CPK2 interacted with NADPH oxidase-like respiratory burst oxidase homolog D (RbohD), but not with RbohF. Based on its function and interacting partners, we propose that BnaCPK2 plays an important role in ROS and cell death control through interacting with RbohD. •Oilseed rape CPK2 is a kinase localized at the ER membrane.•Overexpression of BnaCPK2 induced ROS accumulation and cell death.•The constitutively active form of BnaCPK2 showed stronger function than the wild-type one.•BnaCPK2 expression induced nuclear DNA fragmentation.•BnaCPK2 interacted with BnaRbohD, but not with BnaRbohF.