SlVQ15 interacts with jasmonate-ZIM domain proteins and SlWRKY31 to regulate defense response in tomato

Abstract

Botrytis cinerea is one of the most widely distributed and harmful pathogens worldwide. Both the phytohormone jasmonate (JA) and the VQ motif-containing proteins play crucial roles in plant resistance to B. cinerea. However, their crosstalk in resistance to B. cinerea is unclear, especially in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). In this study, we found that the tomato VQ15 was highly induced upon B. cinerea infection and localized in the nucleus. Silencing SlVQ15 using virus-induced gene silencing reduced resistance to B. cinerea. Overexpression of SlVQ15 enhanced resistance to B. cinerea, while disruption of SlVQ15 using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein9 (Cas9) technology increased susceptibility to B. cinerea. Furthermore, SlVQ15 formed homodimers. Additionally, SlVQ15 interacted with JA-ZIM domain proteins, repressors of the JA signaling pathway, and SlWRKY31. SlJAZ11 interfered with the interaction between SlVQ15 and SlWRKY31 and repressed the SlVQ15-increased transcriptional activation activity of SlWRKY31. SlVQ15 and SlWRKY31 synergistically regulated tomato resistance to B. cinerea, as silencing SlVQ15 enhanced the sensitivity of slwrky31 to B. cinerea. Taken together, our findings showed that the SlJAZ-interacting protein SlVQ15 physically interacts with SlWRKY31 to cooperatively control JA-mediated plant defense against B. cinerea.

Phenylpropane biosynthesis and alkaloid metabolism pathways involved in resistance of Amorphophallus spp. against soft rot disease

“…In addition, the MAPK cascade reaction interacts with a host of signaling pathways, such as plant hormones ( Wang et al., 2023 ), reactive oxygen species ( Zhang et al., 2023 ), calmodulins, and calcium-dependent protein kinases ( Wurzinger et al., 2011 ), to regulate the same defense process, forming a complex defense network. Plant hormones have been shown to induce defense genes, regulate the synthesis of secondary metabolites, and participate in the resistance response to pathogens ( Gupta et al., 2020 ; Huang et al., 2022 ). In this study, DEGs were enriched in the pathways of “alpha-linolenic acid metabolism,” “glutathione metabolism,” “phenylpropanoid biosynthesis,” and “MAPK signaling pathway - plant” in A. muelleri and A. konjac .…”

MdVQ10 promotes wound‐triggered leaf senescence in association with MdWRKY75 and undergoes antagonistic modulation of MdCML15 and MdJAZs in apple

“…For example, Arabidopsis SIB1 and SIB2 alleviate transcriptional inhibition of GLK1 and GLK2 by WRKY75 (Zhang et al., 2022). SIVQ15 promotes the transcriptional activity of SIWRKY31 (Huang et al., 2022). Our current study revealed that the wounding activator MdVQ10, as a MdWRKY75 interacting partner, positively modulated wound‐induced leaf senescence by enhancing the transcriptional activation of MdWRKY75 on MdSAG12 and MdSAG18 (Figure 4–6).…”

“…The VQ protein JAV1 interacts with JAZ8 and WRKY51 to mediate JA biosynthesis (Yan et al., 2018). A recent study in tomato showed that SlVQ15 modulates the defense response through affinity to SIJAZ11 (Huang et al., 2022). In Arabidopsis and rice, VQ proteins are the substrate of mitogen‐activated protein kinases (Li et al., 2021; Pecher et al., 2014).…”

“…In Arabidopsis, VQ10 and VQ20 are involved in defense against Botrytis cinerea and pollen development by enhancing the transcriptional functions of WRKY8 and WRKY2/WRKY34, respectively (Chen et al., 2018; Lei et al., 2017). SlVQ15 positively modulates the tomato defense response by stimulating the transcriptional activity of SlWRKY31 (Huang et al., 2022). In contrast, MaVQ5 in bananas, the Arabidopsis VQ proteins AtSIB1 and AtSIB2, and OsVQ8 in rice play transcriptional inhibitory functions in the modulation of WRKY transcriptional activity (Chen et al., 2022; Ye et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2022).…”

CaWRKY50 Acts as a Negative Regulator in Response to Colletotrichum scovillei Infection in Pepper

“…JrWRKY21 was shown to improve walnut resistance to C. gloeosporioides by interacting with JrPTI5L (a PR protein) [ 50 ]. SlWRKY31 interacts with SlVQ15 to regulate the resistance to B. cinerea in tomatoes [ 51 ]. It is plausible that the CaWRKY50 protein also interacts with other defense proteins in response to various pathogen infections.…”