scholarly journals Function and Mechanism of WRKY Transcription Factors in Abiotic Stress Responses of Plants

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1515
Author(s):  
Weixing Li ◽  
Siyu Pang ◽  
Zhaogeng Lu ◽  
Biao Jin
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Regulatory Mechanism ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Wrky Transcription Factor ◽  
Future Perspectives ◽  
Wrky Transcription Factors ◽  
Different Response

The WRKY gene family is a plant-specific transcription factor (TF) group, playing important roles in many different response pathways of diverse abiotic stresses (drought, saline, alkali, temperature, and ultraviolet radiation, and so forth). In recent years, many studies have explored the role and mechanism of WRKY family members from model plants to agricultural crops and other species. Abiotic stress adversely affects the growth and development of plants. Thus, a review of WRKY with stress responses is important to increase our understanding of abiotic stress responses in plants. Here, we summarize the structural characteristics and regulatory mechanism of WRKY transcription factors and their responses to abiotic stress. We also discuss current issues and future perspectives of WRKY transcription factor research.

scholarly journals Association of transcription factor WRKY56 gene from Populus simonii × P. nigra with salt tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Wang ◽  
Wenjing Yao ◽  
Yao Sun ◽  
Jiying Wang ◽  
Tingbo Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Salt Stress ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Salt Tolerance ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Germination Rate ◽  
Wrky Transcription Factor ◽  
Biotic And Abiotic Stress ◽  
Populus Simonii ◽  
Reading Frame

The WRKY transcription factor family is one of the largest groups of transcription factor in plants, playing important roles in growth, development, and biotic and abiotic stress responses. Many WRKY genes have been cloned from a variety of plant species and their functions have been analyzed. However, the studies on WRKY transcription factors in tree species under abiotic stress are still not well characterized. To understand the effects of the WRKY gene in response to abiotic stress, mRNA abundances of 102 WRKY genes in Populus simonii × P. nigra were identified by RNA sequencing under normal and salt stress conditions. The expression of 23 WRKY genes varied remarkably, in a tissue-specific manner, under salt stress. Since the WRKY56 was one of the genes significantly induced by NaCl treatment, its cDNA fragment containing an open reading frame from P. simonii × P. nigra was then cloned and transferred into Arabidopsis using the floral dip method. Under salt stress, the transgenic Arabidopsis over-expressed the WRKY56 gene, showing an increase in fresh weight, germination rate, proline content, and peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity, when compared with the wild type. In contrast, transgenic Arabidopsis displayed a decrease in malondialdehyde content under salt stress. Overall, these results indicated that the WRKY56 gene played an important role in regulating salt tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis.

scholarly journals Transcription factors involved in abiotic stress responses in maize (Zea mays L.) and their roles in enhanced productivity in the post genomics era

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Njoroge Kimotho ◽  
Elamin Hafiz Baillo ◽  
Zhengbin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Zea Mays ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Abiotic Stresses ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Animal Feed ◽  
Specific Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factor Genes

Background: Maize (Zea mays L.) is a principal cereal crop cultivated worldwide for human food, animal feed, and more recently as a source of biofuel. However, as a direct consequence of water insufficiency and climate change, frequent occurrences of both biotic and abiotic stresses have been reported in different regions around the world, and recently, this has become a major threat in increasing global maize yields. Plants respond to abiotic stresses by utilizing the activity of transcription factors, which are families of genes coding for specific transcription factor proteins whose target genes form a regulon which is involved in the repression/ activation of genes associated with abiotic stress responses. Therefore, it is of uttermost importance to have a systematic study on each family of the transcription factors, the downstream target genes they regulate, and the specific transcription factor genes which are involved in multiple abiotic stress responses in maize and other main crops. Method: In this review, the main transcription factor families, the specific transcription factor genes and their regulons which are involved in abiotic stress regulation will be momentarily discussed. Great emphasis will be given on maize abiotic stress improvement throughout this review, although other examples from other plants like rice, Arabidopsis, wheat, and barley will be used. Results: We have described in detail the main transcription factor families in maize which take part in abiotic stress responses together with their regulons. Furthermore, we have also briefly described the utilization of high-efficiency technologies in the study and characterization of TFs involved in the abiotic stress regulatory networks in plants with an emphasis on increasing maize production. Examples of these technologies include next-generation sequencing, microarray analysis, machine learning and RNA-Seq technology. Conclusion: In conclusion, it is hoped that all the information provided in this review may in time contribute to the use of TF genes in the research, breeding, and development of new abiotic stress tolerant maize cultivars.

scholarly journals Transcription factors involved in abiotic stress responses in maize (Zea mays L.) and their roles in enhanced productivity in the post genomics era

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Njoroge Kimotho ◽  
Elamin Hafiz Baillo ◽  
Zhengbin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Zea Mays ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Abiotic Stresses ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Animal Feed ◽  
Specific Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factor Genes

Background: Maize (Zea mays L.) is a principal cereal crop cultivated worldwide for human food, animal feed, and more recently as a source of biofuel. However, as a direct consequence of water insufficiency and climate change, frequent occurrences of both biotic and abiotic stresses have been reported in different regions around the world, and recently, this has become a major threat in increasing global maize yields. Plants respond to abiotic stresses by utilizing the activity of transcription factors, which are families of genes coding for specific transcription factor proteins whose target genes form a regulon which is involved in the repression/ activation of genes associated with abiotic stress responses. Therefore, it is of uttermost importance to have a systematic study on each family of the transcription factors, the downstream target genes they regulate, and the specific transcription factor genes which are involved in multiple abiotic stress responses in maize and other main crops. Method: In this review, the main transcription factor families, the specific transcription factor genes and their regulons which are involved in abiotic stress regulation will be momentarily discussed. Great emphasis will be given on maize abiotic stress improvement throughout this review, although other examples from other plants like rice, Arabidopsis, wheat, and barley will be used. Results: We have described in detail the main transcription factor families in maize which take part in abiotic stress responses together with their regulons. Furthermore, we have also briefly described the utilization of high-efficiency technologies in the study and characterization of TFs involved in the abiotic stress regulatory networks in plants with an emphasis on increasing maize production. Examples of these technologies include next-generation sequencing, microarray analysis, machine learning and RNA-Seq technology. Conclusion: In conclusion, it is hoped that all the information provided in this review may in time contribute to the use of TF genes in the research, breeding, and development of new abiotic stress tolerant maize cultivars.

scholarly journals STIFDB—Arabidopsis Stress Responsive Transcription Factor DataBase

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Shameer ◽  
S. Ambika ◽  
Susan Mary Varghese ◽  
N. Karaba ◽  
M. Udayakumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Transcription Factor Binding Sites ◽  
Transcription Factor Binding ◽  
Factor Binding ◽  
Stress Responsive Genes

Elucidating the key players of molecular mechanism that mediate the complex stress-responses in plants system is an important step to develop improved variety of stress tolerant crops. Understanding the effects of different types of biotic and abiotic stress is a rapidly emerging domain in the area of plant research to develop better, stress tolerant plants. Information about the transcription factors, transcription factor binding sites, function annotation of proteins coded by genes expressed during abiotic stress (for example: drought, cold, salinity, excess light, abscisic acid, and oxidative stress) response will provide better understanding of this phenomenon. STIFDB is a database of abiotic stress responsive genes and their predicted abiotic transcription factor binding sites in Arabidopsis thaliana. We integrated 2269 genes upregulated in different stress related microarray experiments and surveyed their 1000 bp and 100 bp upstream regions and 5′UTR regions using the STIF algorithm and identified putative abiotic stress responsive transcription factor binding sites, which are compiled in the STIFDB database. STIFDB provides extensive information about various stress responsive genes and stress inducible transcription factors of Arabidopsis thaliana. STIFDB will be a useful resource for researchers to understand the abiotic stress regulome and transcriptome of this important model plant system.

scholarly journals Genome-wide identification and analysis of WRKY gene family in maize provide insights into regulatory network in response to abiotic stresses

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjing Hu ◽  
Qiaoyu Ren ◽  
Yali Chen ◽  
Guoliang Xu ◽  
Yexiong Qian
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Gene Family ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Regulatory Network ◽  
Abiotic Stresses ◽  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Wrky Transcription Factor ◽  
Rna Seq

Abstract Background The WRKY transcription factor family plays significant roles in biotic and abiotic stress responses, which has been associated with various biological processes in higher plants. However, very little is known regarding the structure and function of WRKY genes in maize. Results In this study, a total of 140 ZmWRKY proteins encoded by 125 ZmWRKY genes were eventually identified in maize. On the basis of features of molecular structure and a comparison of phylogenetic relationships of WRKY transcription factor families from Arabidopsis, rice and maize, all 140 ZmWRKY proteins in maize were divided into three main groups (Groups I, II and III) and the Group II was further classified into five subgroups. The characteristics of exon-intron structure of these putative ZmWRKY genes and conserved protein motifs of their encoded ZmWRKY proteins were also presented respectively, which was in accordance with the group classification results. Promoter analysis suggested that ZmWRKY genes shared many abiotic stress-related elements and hormone-related elements. Gene duplication analysis revealed that the segmental duplication and purifying selection might play a significant role during the evolution of the WRKY gene family in maize. Using RNA-seq data, transcriptome analysis indicated that most of ZmWRKY genes displayed differential expression patterns at different developmental stages of maize. Further, by quantitative real-time PCR analysis, twenty-one ZmWRKY genes were confirmed to respond to two different abiotic stress treatments, suggesting their potential roles in various abiotic stress responses. In addition, RNA-seq dataset was used to conduct weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) in order to recognize gene subsets possessing similar expression patterns and highly correlated with each other within different metabolic networks. Further, subcellular localization prediction, functional annotation and interaction analysis of ZmWRKY proteins were also performed to predict their interactions and associations involved in potential regulatory network. Conclusions Taken together, the present study will serve to present an important theoretical basis for further exploring function and regulatory mechanism of ZmWRKY genes in the growth, development, and adaptation to abiotic stresses in maize.

scholarly journals Expression Analyses of Soybean VOZ Transcription Factors and the Role of GmVOZ1G in Drought and Salt Stress Tolerance

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Li ◽  
Jia-Cheng Zheng ◽  
Ting-Ting Wang ◽  
Dong-Hong Min ◽  
Wen-Liang Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Salt Stress ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Stress Tolerance ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Hairy Roots ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Salt Stress Tolerance ◽  
Drought And Salt Stress

Vascular plant one-zinc-finger (VOZ) transcription factor, a plant specific one-zinc-finger-type transcriptional activator, is involved in regulating numerous biological processes such as floral induction and development, defense against pathogens, and response to multiple types of abiotic stress. Six VOZ transcription factor-encoding genes (GmVOZs) have been reported to exist in the soybean (Glycine max) genome. In spite of this, little information is currently available regarding GmVOZs. In this study, GmVOZs were cloned and characterized. GmVOZ genes encode proteins possessing transcriptional activation activity in yeast cells. GmVOZ1E, GmVOZ2B, and GmVOZ2D gene products were widely dispersed in the cytosol, while GmVOZ1G was primarily located in the nucleus. GmVOZs displayed a differential expression profile under dehydration, salt, and salicylic acid (SA) stress conditions. Among them, GmVOZ1G showed a significantly induced expression in response to all stress treatments. Overexpression of GmVOZ1G in soybean hairy roots resulted in a greater tolerance to drought and salt stress. In contrast, RNA interference (RNAi) soybean hairy roots suppressing GmVOZ1G were more sensitive to both of these stresses. Under drought treatment, soybean composite plants with an overexpression of hairy roots had higher relative water content (RWC). In response to drought and salt stress, lower malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation and higher peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were observed in soybean composite seedlings with an overexpression of hairy roots. The opposite results for each physiological parameter were obtained in RNAi lines. In conclusion, GmVOZ1G positively regulates drought and salt stress tolerance in soybean hairy roots. Our results will be valuable for the functional characterization of soybean VOZ transcription factors under abiotic stress.

scholarly journals The Regulatory Mechanism of Water Activities on Aflatoxins Biosynthesis and Conidia Development, and Transcription Factor AtfB Is Involved in This Regulation

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 431
Author(s):  
Longxue Ma ◽  
Xu Li ◽  
Xiaoyun Ma ◽  
Qiang Yu ◽  
Xiaohua Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Sexual Development ◽  
Regulatory Mechanism ◽  
Food Storage ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Transcriptional Level ◽  
Conidia Production

Peanuts are frequently infected by Aspergillus strains and then contaminated by aflatoxins (AF), which brings out economic losses and health risks. AF production is affected by diverse environmental factors, especially water activity (aw). In this study, A. flavus was inoculated into peanuts with different aw (0.90, 0.95, and 0.99). Both AFB1 yield and conidia production showed the highest level in aw 0.90 treatment. Transcriptional level analyses indicated that AF biosynthesis genes, especially the middle- and later-stage genes, were significantly up-regulated in aw 0.90 than aw 0.95 and 0.99. AtfB could be the pivotal regulator response to aw variations, and could further regulate downstream genes, especially AF biosynthesis genes. The expressions of conidia genes and relevant regulators were also more up-regulated at aw 0.90 than aw 0.95 and 0.99, suggesting that the relative lower aw could increase A. flavus conidia development. Furthermore, transcription factors involved in sexual development and nitrogen metabolism were also modulated by different aw. This research partly clarified the regulatory mechanism of aw on AF biosynthesis and A. flavus development and it would supply some advice for AF prevention in food storage.

scholarly journals Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the bZIP Transcription Factors in the Mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 1045
Author(s):  
Yuping Xu ◽  
Yongchun Wang ◽  
Huizhang Zhao ◽  
Mingde Wu ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Gene Family ◽  
Expression Analysis ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Leucine Zipper ◽  
Coniothyrium Minitans ◽  
Basic Leucine Zipper ◽  
Bzip Domain ◽  
Conidial Development

The basic leucine zipper (bZIP) proteins family is one of the largest and most diverse transcription factors, widely distributed in eukaryotes. However, no information is available regarding the bZIP gene family in Coniothyrium minitans, an important biocontrol agent of the plant pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. In this study, we identified 34 bZIP genes from the C. minitans genome, which were classified into 8 groups based on their phylogenetic relationships. Intron analysis showed that 28 CmbZIP genes harbored a variable number of introns, and 15 of them shared a feature that intron inserted into the bZIP domain. The intron position in bZIP domain was highly conserved, which was related to recognize the arginine (R) and could be treated as a genomic imprinting. Expression analysis of the CmbZIP genes in response to abiotic stresses indicated that they might play distinct roles in abiotic stress responses. Results showed that 22 CmbZIP genes were upregulated during the later stage of conidial development. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis indicated that CmbZIP genes are involved in different stages of mycoparasitism. Among deletion mutants of four CmbZIPs (CmbZIP07, -09, -13, and -16), only ΔCmbZIP16 mutants significantly reduced its tolerance to the oxidative stress. The other mutants exhibited no significant effects on colony morphology, mycelial growth, conidiation, and mycoparasitism. Taken together, our results suggested that CmbZIP genes play important roles in the abiotic stress responses, conidial development, and mycoparasitism. These results provide comprehensive information of the CmbZIP gene family and lay the foundation for further research on the bZIP gene family regarding their biological functions and evolutionary history.

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