The Receptor-like Kinase TaCRK-7A Inhibits <i>Fusarium pseudograminearum</i> Growth and Mediates Resistance to Fusarium Crown Rot in Wheat
Tianci Wu,
Feilong Guo,
Gangbiao Xu,
Jinfeng Yu,
Li Zhang,
Xuening Wei,
Xiuliang Zhu,
Zengyan Zhang
Affiliations
Tianci Wu
Institute of Crop Sciences, The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Feilong Guo
Institute of Crop Sciences, The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Gangbiao Xu
The Laboratory of Forestry Genetics, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
Jinfeng Yu
College of Plant Protection, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Li Zhang
College of Plant Protection, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Xuening Wei
Institute of Crop Sciences, The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Xiuliang Zhu
Institute of Crop Sciences, The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Zengyan Zhang
Institute of Crop Sciences, The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
The fungus F. pseudograminearum can cause the destructive disease Fusarium crown rot (FCR) of wheat, an important staple crop. Functional roles of FCR resistance genes in wheat are largely unknown. In the current research, we characterized the antifungal activity and positive-regulatory function of the cysteine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase TaCRK-7A in the defense against F. pseudograminearum in wheat. Antifungal assays showed that the purified TaCRK-7A protein inhibited the growth of F. pseudograminearum. TaCRK-7A transcript abundance was elevated after F. pseudograminearum attack and was positively related to FCR-resistance levels of wheat cultivars. Intriguingly, knocking down of TaCRK-7A transcript increased susceptibility of wheat to FCR and decreased transcript levels of defense-marker genes in wheat. Furthermore, the transcript abundances of TaCRK-7A and its modulated-defense genes were responsive to exogenous jasmonate treatment. Taken together, these results suggest that TaCRK-7A can directly inhibit F. pseudograminearum growth and mediates FCR-resistance by promoting the expression of wheat defense genes in the jasmonate pathway. Thus, TaCRK-7A is a potential gene resource in FCR-resistant wheat breeding program.
