Sugarcane transcription factor ScWRKY4 negatively regulates resistance to pathogen infection through the JA signaling pathway
Dongjiao Wang,
Wei Wang,
Shoujian Zang,
Liqian Qin,
Yanlan Liang,
Peixia Lin,
Yachun Su,
Youxiong Que
Affiliations
Dongjiao Wang
Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, Ministry of Education, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, China
Wei Wang
Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, Ministry of Education, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, China
Shoujian Zang
Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, Ministry of Education, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, China
Liqian Qin
Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, Ministry of Education, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, China
Yanlan Liang
Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, Ministry of Education, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, China
Peixia Lin
Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, Ministry of Education, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, China
Yachun Su
Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, Ministry of Education, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, China; Corresponding authors.
Youxiong Que
Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, Ministry of Education, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, China; National Key Laboratory for Tropical Crop Breeding, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572024, Hainan, China; Corresponding authors.
WRKY transcription factors, transcriptional regulators unique to plants, play an important role in defense response to pathogen infection. However, the resistance mechanisms of WRKY genes in sugarcane remain unclear. In the present study, gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that WRKY gene family in sugarcane was extensively involved in the response to biotic stress and in defense response. We identified gene ScWRKY4, a class IIc member of the WRKY gene family, in sugarcane cultivar ROC22. This gene was induced by salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) stress. Interestingly, expression of ScWRKY4 was down-regulated in smut-resistant sugarcane cultivars but up-regulated in smut-susceptible sugarcane cultivars infected with Sporisorium scitamineum. Moreover, stable overexpression of the ScWRKY4 gene in Nicotiana benthamiana enhanced susceptibility to Fusarium solani var. coeruleum and caused down-regulated expression of immune marker-related genes. Transcriptome analysis indicated suppressed expression of most JAZ genes in the signal transduction pathway. ScWRKY4 interacted with ScJAZ13 to repress its expression. We thus hypothesized that the ScWRKY4 gene was involved in the regulatory network of plant disease resistance, most likely through the JA signaling pathway. The present study depicting the molecular involvement of ScWRKY4 in sugarcane disease resistance lays a foundation for future investigation.
