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Setaria italica SiWRKY89 enhances drought tolerance in Arabidopsis

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Abstract

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica), a drought-tolerant plant, is grown in drylands all over the world. However, the molecular basis of drought tolerance in S. italica is not yet understood. Previously, we comprehensively characterised the SiWRKY genes and discovered that SiWRKY89, a homologue of AtWRKY57, had a noticeably higher expression level during dry conditions. In this study, a transgenic experiment was carried out in Arabidopsis to investigate the function of SiWRKY89 in conferring drought tolerance. Phenotypic analysis showed that the root length of seedlings and the survival rates of mature transgenic Arabidopsis were greater than those of the control plants under drought conditions. Additionally, compared to the control plants, the transgenic plants had higher proline content and antioxidant activity. Furthermore, qRT-PCR investigation for abiotic stress-responsive genes revealed that SiWRKY89-overexpressing plants had higher expression levels than their control counterparts. Additionally, the yeast one-hybrid experiment demonstrated that SiWRKY89 could bind to the W-box elements of AtNCED3. By upregulating the downstream gene AtNCED3 and activating the reactive oxygen species scavenging mechanisms, SiWRKY89 overexpression improved Arabidopsis drought tolerance. Thus, we provide a molecular and biochemical basis for drought tolerance and a candidate gene for crop breeding for drought tolerance.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (2020YFD1000803-2); State Key Laboratory of Sustainable Dryland Agriculture (202105D121008-2-5); the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (31860409; 32060509); Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (201901D111221); Key Research and Development Program of Shanxi Province (201803D221019-1); Research Program Sponsored by Shanxi Key Laboratory of Minor Crops Germplasm Innovation and Molecular Breeding, Shanxi Agricultural University (202105D121010-06); Demonstration and Guidance Program for Technology People-Benefit in Qingdao (20-3-4-7-nsh), and the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program (ASTIP No. CAAS-ZDRW202201).

Funding

The State Key Laboratory of Sustainable Dryland Agriculture, 202105D121008-2-5, Li Zhang, Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province,31860409, Li Zhang,32060509, Li Zhang, Key Technologies Research and Development Program,2020YFD1000803-2, AiYing Zhang, Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province, 201901D111221, Li Zhang

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  1. Aiying Zhang and Li Zhang have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Millet Research Institute, Shanxi Agricultural University, Changzhi, Shanxi, China

    Aiying Zhang, Erhu Guo & Rui Wang

  2. College of Agriculture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, China

    Li Zhang

  3. Faculty of Agronomy College, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China

    Qiang Li & Shihua Guo

  4. Department of Plant Production Sciences and Technologies, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Prince Marowa

  5. Marine Agriculture Research Center, Tobacco Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China

    Zongchang Xu

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  1. Aiying Zhang
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Zhang, A., Zhang, L., Guo, E. et al. Setaria italica SiWRKY89 enhances drought tolerance in Arabidopsis. Plant Growth Regul 99, 125–135 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-022-00916-8

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