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Transcriptome-Wide Identification and Expression Profiles of Masson Pine WRKY Transcription Factors in Response to Low Phosphorus Stress

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Abstract

Masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) is an economically important conifer tree that can be widely used for timber, pulp, and resin production. However, the phosphate (Pi) deficiency in tropical and subtropical forest soils poses severe challenges for the productivity of masson pine. WRKY transcription factors (TFs) have been proven to play important roles in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, including low Pi stress; however, little is known about their roles in masson pine. To understand the roles of P. massoniana WRKY (PmWRKY) in low Pi stress, 25 putative WRKY TFs with complete WRKY domain from transcriptome sequencing data were identified. Based on their conserved domains and zinc-finger motif, the P. massoniana WRKY were divided into three groups. Structural feature analysis shows that PmWRKY proteins contain WRKYGQK/GKK/GRK domains and a C2H2/C2HC-type zinc-finger structure. To putatively identify the function of PmWRKY members involved in low Pi stress, transcriptional profiles of 17 PmWRKYs in masson pine under different Pi stresses were systematically established using real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis. Analysis demonstrates that the candidate PmWRKYs were involved in responses to Pi starvation—for example, PmWRKY11, 12, and 13 were upregulated both in P1 (Phosphorus content of 0.01 mM) and P2 (Phosphorus content of 0.06 mM) stresses. The available evidence conclusively sheds light on protein structures, evolutionary relationships, and expression patterns of WRKYs in response to low Pi stress of masson pine, which facilitates further functional identification and molecular breeding for the enhancement of low-phosphorous tolerance in this species.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank Prof. Kevin Johnston for providing proofreading help.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31660185), the Natural Science Foundation of Guizhou Province, P. R. China (20161051), and the National Key Research and Development Project of China (2017YFD0600302, 2017YFD0600303).

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Author notes

  1. Fuhua Fan and Qingzhu Wang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Forestry Resources & Environment of Guizhou, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Fuhua Fan & Guijie Ding

  2. Key Laboratory of Forest Cultivation in Plateau Mountain of Guizhou Province, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Fuhua Fan & Guijie Ding

  3. College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Fuhua Fan & Qingzhu Wang

  4. Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Qingzhu Wang, Huiping Li & Xiaopeng Wen

Authors
  1. Fuhua Fan
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  2. Qingzhu Wang
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  3. Huiping Li
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  4. Guijie Ding
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  5. Xiaopeng Wen
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Correspondence to Xiaopeng Wen.

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Key Message

To understand P. massoniana WRKY (PmWRKY) roles in low Pi stress, we performed a transcriptome-wide identification of WRKY TFs in masson pine. Judging from their conserved domains and zinc-finger motif, they were diversely homologous to those from Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa, and we divided them into three groups. Structural feature analysis shows that the PmWRKY proteins contained WRKYGQK/GKK/GRK domains and a C2H2/C2HC-type zinc-finger structure. Transcriptional profiles of 17 PmWRKYs in masson pine upon different Pi stresses were systematically established using real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis, and candidate PmWRKYs involved in responses to Pi-deficiency were identified.

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Fan, F., Wang, Q., Li, H. et al. Transcriptome-Wide Identification and Expression Profiles of Masson Pine WRKY Transcription Factors in Response to Low Phosphorus Stress. Plant Mol Biol Rep 39, 1–9 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-020-01222-1

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