VvWRKY13 enhances ABA biosynthesis in Vitis vinifera

Abstract

Abscisic acid (ABA) plays critical roles in plant growth and development as well as in plants' responses to abiotic stresses. We previously isolated VvWRKY13, a novel transcription factor, from Vitis vinifera (grapevine), and here we present evidence that VvWRKY13 may regulate ABA biosynthesis in plants. When VvWRKY13 was ectopically expressed in Arabidopsis, the transgenic lines showed delayed seed germination, smaller stomatal aperture size, and several other phenotypic changes, indicating elevated ABA levels in these plants. Sequence analysis of several genes that are involved in grapevine ABA synthetic pathway identified WRKY-specific binding elements (W-box or W-like box) in the promoter regions. Indeed, transient overexpression of VvWRKY13 in grapevine leaves significantly increased the transcript levels of ABA synthetic pathway genes. Taken together, we conclude that VvWRKY13 may promote ABA production by activating genes in the ABA synthetic pathway.

VvBAP1 Is Involved in Cold Tolerance in Vitis vinifera L.

“…Amplification was performed at 94°C for 5 min; 30 cycles of 94°C for 30 s, 60°C for 30 s, and 72°C for 1 min; followed by 5 min at 72°C, and storage at 4°C. The PCR product was cloned into the Xba I and Kpn I sites and ligated downstream of the CaMV35S promoter of pSuper1300 vector to create the pSuper1300- VvBAP1 construct, which was transformed in Agrobacterium tumefaciens GV3101 ( Hao et al, 2017 ). Arabidopsis transformation was performed using the floral dip method ( Clough and Bent, 1998 ).…”

Genome-Wide Identification, Characterisation, and Evolution of the Transcription Factor WRKY in Grapevine (Vitis vinifera): New View and Update

“…Since there is no unified justification for naming genes in this family, a great deal of confusion has arisen over the years of studying WRKY in grapes. First, some researchers named the gene according to the number of the homologous WRKY gene in a model plant, mainly Arabidopsis [ 10 , 50 , 54 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 66 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 ]. It seems unreasonable to use homology to another species in this multigene family for numbering, since the number of genes encoding WRKY TFs varies greatly in different plants.…”

“…Also, the functional role of different VvWRKY genes was investigated in several studies where the authors in transgenics of A. taliana or N. tabacum revealed the effect of VvWRKY genes by overexpression in plant tissues [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ]. The function of WRKY transcription factors has also been studied in transgenic grapes [ 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ].…”