The WRKY transcription factor GhWRKY27 coordinates the senescence regulatory pathway in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Kang

et al. 2019

IJMS

The onset of leaf senescence is triggered by external cues and internal factors such as phytohormones and signaling pathways involving transcription factors (TFs). Abscisic acid (ABA) strongly induces senescence and endogenous ABA levels are finely tuned by many senescence-associated TFs. Here, we report on the regulatory function of the senescence-induced TF OsWRKY5 TF in rice (Oryza sativa). OsWRKY5 expression was rapidly upregulated in senescing leaves, especially in yellowing sectors initiated by aging or dark treatment. A T-DNA insertion activation-tagged OsWRKY5-overexpressing mutant (termed oswrky5-D) promoted leaf senescence under natural and dark-induced senescence (DIS) conditions. By contrast, a T-DNA insertion oswrky5-knockdown mutant (termed oswrky5) retained leaf greenness during DIS. Reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) showed that OsWRKY5 upregulates the expression of genes controlling chlorophyll degradation and leaf senescence. Furthermore, RT-qPCR and yeast one-hybrid analysis demonstrated that OsWRKY5 indirectly upregulates the expression of senescence-associated NAM/ATAF1/2/CUC2 (NAC) genes including OsNAP and OsNAC2. Precocious leaf yellowing in the oswrky5-D mutant might be caused by elevated endogenous ABA concentrations resulting from upregulated expression of ABA biosynthesis genes OsNCED3, OsNCED4, and OsNCED5, indicating that OsWRKY is a positive regulator of ABA biosynthesis during leaf senescence. Furthermore, OsWRKY5 expression was suppressed by ABA treatment. Taken together, OsWRKY5 is a positive regulator of leaf senescence that upregulates senescence-induced NAC, ABA biosynthesis, and chlorophyll degradation genes.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

OsWRKY5 Promotes Rice Leaf Senescence via Senescence-Associated NAC and Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis Pathway

Kang

et al. 2019

IJMS

“…WRKY TFs have been reported to be involved in many aspects of plant development [ 25 , 26 ], including senescence [ 27 , 28 ], trichome development [ 29 ], biosynthesis of secondary metabolites [ 21 , 30 – 32 ], flowering [ 33 , 34 ], and seed development and germination [ 35 – 37 ]. Substantial evidence has demonstrated that many WRKY genes also participate in various stress responses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome-wide analysis of the WRKY gene family in the cucumber genome and transcriptome-wide identification of WRKY transcription factors that respond to biotic and abiotic stresses

Chen

Han

et al. 2020

BMC Plant Biol

Background Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an economically important vegetable crop species. However, it is susceptible to various abiotic and biotic stresses. WRKY transcription factors play important roles in plant growth and development, particularly in the plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, little is known about the expression pattern of WRKY genes under different stresses in cucumber. Results In the present study, an analysis of the new assembly of the cucumber genome (v3.0) allowed the identification of 61 cucumber WRKY genes. Phylogenetic and synteny analyses were performed using related species to investigate the evolution of the cucumber WRKY genes. The 61 CsWRKYs were classified into three main groups, within which the gene structure and motif compositions were conserved. Tissue expression profiles of the WRKY genes demonstrated that 24 CsWRKY genes showed constitutive expression (FPKM > 1 in all samples), and some WRKY genes showed organ-specific expression, suggesting that these WRKYs might be important for plant growth and organ development in cucumber. Importantly, analysis of the CsWRKY gene expression patterns revealed that five CsWRKY genes strongly responded to both salt and heat stresses, 12 genes were observed to be expressed in response to infection from downy mildew and powdery mildew, and three CsWRKY genes simultaneously responded to all treatments analysed. Some CsWRKY genes were observed to be induced/repressed at different times after abiotic or biotic stress treatment, demonstrating that cucumber WRKY genes might play different roles during different stress responses and that their expression patterns vary in response to stresses. Conclusions Sixty-one WRKY genes were identified in cucumber, and insight into their classification, evolution, and expression patterns was gained in this study. Responses to different abiotic and biotic stresses in cucumber were also investigated. Our results provide a better understanding of the function of CsWRKY genes in improving abiotic and biotic stress resistance in cucumber.

“…As Gu described, these varieties are often used for testing and preservation in our laboratory [54]. All samples were quickly frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at −80°C for subsequent experiments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cotton varieties were planted in the field of the Cotton Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Anyang, Henan, China). Different tissues, including roots, stems, leaves, buds, fiber, petals and sepals were harvested from CCRI50 [54].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The MADS transcription factor GhAP1.7 coordinates the flowering regulatory pathway in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Cheng

Wang

Wei

et al. 2021

Gene

Self Cite

Background: MADS-box gene family plays an important role in the molecular regulatory network of flower development. APETAL1 (AP1), a MADS-box gene, plays an important role in the development of flower organs. Although many studies about MADS-box family genes have been reported, the function of AP1 is still not clear in cotton. Results: In this study, GhAP1 (Gh_D03G0922), a candidate gene for cotton flower time and plant height obtained from our previous studies, was cloned from CCRI50 cotton variety and functionally characterized. Subcellular localization demonstrated that GhAP1 was located in nucleus. Infection test of Arabidopsis revealed that GhAP1 could cause precocious flowering and virus-induced gene silence (VIGS) assay demonstrated that GhAP1 could lead to delayed flowering of cotton plants. Yeast one-hybrid assays and transient dual-luciferase assays suggested that floral meristem identity control gene LEAFY (LFY) can bind the promoter of GhAP1 and negatively regulate it. Yeast two-hybrid assays suggested that GhAP1 can interact with pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent transferases superfamily protein PSAT2. Conclusions: Our research indicated that GhAP1 might work as a positive regulator in plant flowering. Moreover, GhAP1 may interact with GhPSAT2 and be negatively regulated by GhLFY in the regulatory pathways. This work laid the foundation for subsequent functional studies of GhAP1. Background Flowering is one of the important traits in plants. In 1990, Yanofsky et al. cloned an AGAMOUS gene for floral organ development from Arabidopsis for the first time, then research on flower development has developed rapidly [1]. Usually, the flowers of typical dicotyledonous plants consist of sepal, petal, stamen, pistil and carpel. These five floral organs are controlled by organ characteristic genes. The flower growth ABC model revealed the molecular mechanism underlying flower development which was accepted generally [2]. With the deepening of research, D functional genes were found in Petunia hybrida and E functional genes were found in Gerbera hybrida and Oryza sativa [3-5], then ABCDE model or AE model about flower was derived. MADS-box genes are widely distributed in plants, and more than one hundred genes are found in Arabidopsis [6, 7]. Based on the structural differences, MADS-box genes can be divided into TypeⅠ and * Data were shown as means ± SDs from ten plants. VIGS delayed cotton flowering SGN-VIGS Tool (http://vigs.solgenomics.net/) was used to analyze the GhAP1 sequence and 250 bp of GhAP1 was selected to construct pCLCrVA-GhAP1 vector. pCLCrVA-PDS vector was served as a positive control and pCLCrVA vector was served as an empty control. The cotton plants harboring pCLCrVA-PDS showed an albino phenotype, suggesting that the VIGS assay was successful. qRT-PCR was performed to evaluate the effect of gene silencing, the results showed that the expression level of GhAP1 in positive plants was significantly lower than that in VA empty control (Fig. 5a). When flowering was observed in VA plants, the p...