Constitutive expression of rice WRKY30 gene increases the endogenous jasmonic acid accumulation, PR gene expression and resistance to fungal pathogens in rice

• Published in: Planta Vol. 236; no. 5; pp. 1485 - 1498
• Main Authors: Peng, Xixu, Hu, Yaojun, Tang, Xinke, Zhou, Pinglan, Deng, Xiaobo, Wang, Haihua, Guo, Zejian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.11.2012; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Blasts; Cell Nucleus; Cell Nucleus - metabolism; Cyclopentanes; Cyclopentanes - metabolism; Cyclopentanes - pharmacology; Disease resistance; Disease Resistance - genetics; DNA, Complementary; drug effects; Ecology; Forestry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fungal plant pathogens; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - drug effects; gene overexpression; Genes; genetics; Infection; Infections; Jasmonic acid; Life Sciences; Magnaporthe; Magnaporthe - pathogenicity; Magnaporthe grisea; metabolism; microbiology; Original Article; Oryza; Oryza - drug effects; Oryza - genetics; Oryza - metabolism; Oryza - microbiology; Oryza sativa; Oxylipins; Oxylipins - metabolism; Oxylipins - pharmacology; pathogenicity; Pathogens; pharmacology; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Plant cells; Plant Diseases; Plant Diseases - genetics; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Plant Proteins; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; plant response; Plant Sciences; Plants; Plants, Genetically Modified; Rhizoctonia; Rhizoctonia - pathogenicity; Rhizoctonia solani; Rice; rice blast; RNA; Salicylic acid; Salicylic Acid - pharmacology; Sheath blight; Thanatephorus cucumeris; transcription (genetics); Transcription activation; Transcription factors; Transcriptional Activation; Transgenic plants; Yeasts; Yeasts - genetics; Transcription factor; Disease resistance; WRKY30; Monocotyledones; Plant pathogen; Mycosis; Plant biology; Cereal crop; Accumulation; Fungi; Oryza sativa; Endogenous; Gramineae; Angiospermae; Plant growth substance; Rhizoctonia solani; Fungi Imperfecti; Jasmonic acid; Ascomycota; Terpenoid; Increase; Gene expression; Infection; Magnaporthe grisea; Spermatophyta
• ISSN: 0032-0935; 1432-2048; 1432-2048
• DOI: 10.1007/s00425-012-1698-7

WRKY transcription factors are crucial regulatory components of plant responses to pathogen infection. In the present study, we report isolation and functional characterization of the pathogen-responsive rice WRKY30 gene, whose transcripts accumulate rapidly in response to salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) treatment. Overexpression of WRKY30 in rice enhanced resistance to rice sheath blight fungus Rhizoctonia solarii and blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea. The enhanced resistance in the transgenic lines overexpressing WRKY30 was associated with activated expression of JA synthesis-related genes LOX, AOS2 and pathogenesis-related (PR)3 and PR10, and increased endogenous JA accumulation under the challenge of fungal pathogens. WRKY30 was nuclearlocalized and had transcriptional activation ability in yeast cells, supporting that it functions as a transcription factor. Together, our findings indicate that JA plays a crucial role in the WRKY30-mediated defense responses to fungal pathogens, and that the rice WRKY30 seems promising as an important candidate gene to improve disease resistance in rice.