Patterns of Drought Response of 38 WRKY Transcription Factors of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim.

Abstract

The WRKY family of transcription factors (TFs) includes a number of transcription-specific groupings that play important roles in plant growth and development and in plant responses to various stresses. To screen for WRKY transcription factors associated with drought stress in Zanthoxylum bungeanum, a total of 38 ZbWRKY were identified and these were then classified and identified with Arabidopsis WRKY. Using bioinformatics analyses based on the structural characteristics of the conservative domain, 38 WRKY transcription factors were identified and categorized into three groups: Groups I, II, and III. Of these, Group II can be divided into four subgroups: subgroups IIb, IIc, IId, and IIe. No ZbWRKY members of subgroup IIa were found in the sequencing data. In addition, 38 ZbWRKY were identified by real-time PCR to determine the behavior of this family of genes under drought stress. Twelve ZbWRKY transcription factors were found to be significantly upregulated under drought stress and these were identified by relative quantification. As predicted by the STRING website, the results show that the WRKYs are involved in four signaling pathways—the jasmonic acid (JA), the salicylic acid (SA), the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and the ethylene signaling pathways. ZbWRKY33 is the most intense transcription factor in response to drought stress. We predict that WRKY33 binds directly to the ethylene synthesis precursor gene ACS6, to promote ethylene synthesis. Ethylene then binds to the ethylene activator release signal to activate a series of downstream genes for cold stress and osmotic responses. The roles of ZbWRKY transcription factors in drought stress rely on a regulatory network center on the JA signaling pathway.

A Wheat WRKY Transcription Factor TaWRKY46 Enhances Tolerance to Osmotic Stress in transgenic Arabidopsis Plants

“…The WRKY TF members are known to be a vital section in drought stress and the ABA signal pathway [30,40]. The activation of the ABA signal transduction pathway also elevated plant drought tolerance by repressing transpiration, stomata opening, and the growth retardation factors [41]. But the expression patterns of TaWRKY46 seemed to be inconsistent under PEG and ABA treatments ( Figure 2B,F).…”

Identification of Key Genes in the Synthesis Pathway of Volatile Terpenoids in Fruit of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim

“…(Z. bungeanum) belongs to the Rutaceae family and is an important medicinal and edible plant. China is the largest area of Z. bungeanum cultivation in the world [1]. Z. bungeanum is also colloquially known as Chinese prickly ash, which is usually divided into two cultivars according to the color of the fruit: Zanthoxylum Bungeanum (Red huajiao) and Zanthoxylum armatum (Green huajiao) [2].…”

Insight of Transcriptional Regulators reveals the Tolerance Mechanism of Carpet-grass (Axonopus compressus) Against Drought

“…These responses varied due to number of factors i.e., genotypes, experimental procedures, sampling technique and time [20,21]. The molecular mechanisms in response to drought stress has been studied by many scientists and the genes associated with water uptake [22], transporter channels [23,24], and transcription factors [25]. All these attributes are regarded as the regulators of drought tolerance in plants, although number of molecular elements and gene network of drought tolerance mechanism have been identi ed but still not fully elucidated [21].…”