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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » WHGQ » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #333835
Title: Wheat WRKY transcription factor genes TaWRKY49 and TaWRKY62 confer differential high-temperature seedling-plant resistance to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici

Author
item WANG, JUNJUAN - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University
item TAO, FEI - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University
item TIAN, WEI - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University
item Chen, Xianming
item XU, XIANGMING - East Malling Research
item HU, XIAOPING - Northwest Agriculture And Forestry University

Submitted to: PLOS ONE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/11/2017
Publication Date: 7/25/2017
Citation: Wang, J., Tao, F., Tian, W., Chen, X., Xu, X., Hu, X. 2017. Wheat WRKY transcription factor genes TaWRKY49 and TaWRKY62 confer differential high temperature seedling-plant resistance to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici. PLoS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181963.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181963

Interpretive Summary: Plant WRKY transcription factors (TFs) play crucial roles in resistance to pathogen infection. Stripe rust is a destructive disease of wheat production worldwide. The roles of WRKY TFs in wheat response to stripe rust are not well understood. In this study, we identified and characterized WRKY genes TaWRKY49 and TaWRKY62 involved in the high-temperature seedling-plant (HTSP) resistance from wheat cultivar Xiaoyan 6 by RNA sequencing. The expression level of TaWRKY49 was down-regulated while that of TaWRKY62 up-regulated during the expression of HTSP resistance to stripe rust. Silencing TaWRKY49 enhanced HTSP resistance whereas silencing TaWRKY62 reduced HTSP resistance. We also determined the different relationships of the two genes with pathogenesis related proteins and different induction or supression of the two genes in plants treated with various plant hormones, such as salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, ethylene, and methyl jasmonate. Based on the results of all experiments, We concluded that TaWRKY49 is negatively and TaWRKY62 is positively involved in the wheat HTSP resistance to stripe rust through differential regulations of signaling pathways. These findings are useful for understanding the molecular mechanisms of wheat resistance to stripe rust and interactions to the pathogen and the environment.

Technical Abstract: WRKY transcription factors (TFs) play crucial roles in plant resistance response to pathogen infection. Wheat stripe rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) is a destructive disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum) production worldwide. The roles of WRKY TFs in wheat response to Pst are not well understood. In this study, we identified and characterised WRKY genes TaWRKY49 and TaWRKY62 involved in the high-temperature seedling-plant (HTSP) resistance from wheat cultivar Xiaoyan 6 by RNA-seq . The expression levels of TaWRKY49 and TaWRKY62 were down- and up-regulated, respectively, during the expression of HTSP resistance to Pst. Silencing TaWRKY49 enhanced HTSP resistance whereas silencing TaWRKY62 reduced HTSP resistance. The enhanced resistance on leaves with TaWRKY49 silenced was coupled with activation of salicylic acid (SA)- and jasmonic acid (JA)-responsive genes TaPR1.1 and TaAOS, as well as reactive oxygen species (ROS)-associated genes TaCAT and TaPOD; whereas the ethylene (ET)-responsive gene TaPIE1 was suppressed. Decreased resistance on leaves with TaWRKY62 silenced was associated with activation of TaPR1.1 and TaPOD and suppression of TaAOS and TaPIE1. Furthermore, SA, ET, MeJA (methyl jasmonate), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments increased TaWRKY62 expression; whereas MeJA did not affect the expression of TaWRKY49, and H2O2 reduced TaWRKY49 expression. We concluded that TaWRKY49 is negatively and TaWRKY62 is positively involved in the wheat HTSP resistance to Pst through differential regulation of SA-, JA-, ET and ROS-mediated signaling.