The Role of Plant Transcription Factors in the Fight against Plant Viruses

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 24; no. 9; p. 8433
• Main Authors: Viswanath, Kotapati Kasi, Kuo, Song-Yi, Tu, Chin-Wei, Hsu, Yau-Heiu, Huang, Ying-Wen, Hu, Chung-Chi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 08.05.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Abiotic stress; bZIP; Crop losses; Defense industry; Defense mechanisms; DNA binding proteins; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Gene regulation; Genes; Genetic engineering; Genetically modified plants; Health aspects; Infection; Infections; Localization; MYB; NAC; Pathogens; Physiological effects; Physiology; Plant growth; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plant viruses; Plant Viruses - genetics; Plant Viruses - metabolism; Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics; Plants, Genetically Modified - metabolism; Proteins; Review; Rice; Stress, Physiological - genetics; transcription factor (TF); Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transgenic plants; viral infection; Viral infections; Virus diseases; Viruses; WRKY; NAC; WRKY; AP2/ERF; bZIP; transcription factor (TF); viral infection; MYB
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms24098433

Plants are vulnerable to the challenges of unstable environments and pathogen infections due to their immobility. Among various stress conditions, viral infection is a major threat that causes significant crop loss. In response to viral infection, plants undergo complex molecular and physiological changes, which trigger defense and morphogenic pathways. Transcription factors (TFs), and their interactions with cofactors and cis-regulatory genomic elements, are essential for plant defense mechanisms. The transcriptional regulation by TFs is crucial in establishing plant defense and associated activities during viral infections. Therefore, identifying and characterizing the critical genes involved in the responses of plants against virus stress is essential for the development of transgenic plants that exhibit enhanced tolerance or resistance. This article reviews the current understanding of the transcriptional control of plant defenses, with a special focus on NAC, MYB, WRKY, bZIP, and AP2/ERF TFs. The review provides an update on the latest advances in understanding how plant TFs regulate defense genes expression during viral infection.