Open AccessWheat transcription factor TaWRKY70 is positively involved in high‐temperature seedling plant resistance to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici
Author(s) -
Wang Junjuan,
Tao Fei,
An Fei,
Zou Yiping,
Tian Wei,
Chen Xianming,
Xu Xiangming,
Hu Xiaoping
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
molecular plant pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.945
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1364-3703
pISSN - 1464-6722
DOI - 10.1111/mpp.12425
Subject(s) - wrky protein domain , methyl jasmonate , biology , jasmonic acid , salicylic acid , seedling , gene , transcription factor , gene silencing , cultivar , gene expression , horticulture , plant disease resistance , botany , genetics , transcriptome
Summary Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici ( Pst ), is a devastating disease of wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) worldwide. Wheat high‐temperature seedling plant (HTSP) resistance to Pst is non‐race‐specific and durable. WRKY transcription factors have been proven to play important roles in plant defence responses to attacks by several pathogens. However, there is no direct evidence as to whether WRKY transcription factors play a role in HTSP resistance to Pst . We isolated a WRKY gene, named TaWRKY70 , from wheat cultivar Xiaoyan 6. The expression level of TaWRKY70 was increased significantly when exposed to high temperatures (HTs) during the initial symptom expression stage of Pst infection. The expression of this gene increased in plants treated with ethylene (ET), salicylic acid (SA) and cold (4°C) stresses, but decreased in plants treated with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and heat (40°C) stresses. Silencing of TaWRKY70 led to greater susceptibility to Pst (in terms of the increase in length of uredinial pustules and the decrease in the number of necrotic cells) compared with non‐silenced plants when exposed to HT during the initial symptom expression stage of Pst infection, coinciding with expression changes of the ET‐ and SA‐responsive genes TaPIE1 and TaPR1 . 1 . In contrast, the expression level of the jasmonic acid (JA)‐responsive gene TaAOS was not affected by TaWRKY70 . These results indicate that TaWRKY70 is positively involved in HTSP resistance, during which SA and ET signalling are probably activated.