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Over-expression of a grape WRKY transcription factor gene, VlWRKY48, in Arabidopsis thaliana increases disease resistance and drought stress tolerance

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Abstract

Members of the plant WRKY transcription factor family play important roles in regulating response to various biotic and abiotic stresses. A previous gene expression study suggested that the grape gene, WRKY48, was up-regulated during drought stress and fungal infection, as well as in response to exogenous addition of plant hormones. To examine this relationship in more details, we over-expressed VlWRKY48 from V. labrusca × V. vinifera (cv. Kyoho) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Root length and the rate of seed germination were greater in three transgenic lines than that in wild type (WT) plants, the seedlings and adult plants displayed fewer stress-related symptoms following drought treatment than WT, in addition to lower water loss rate. Moreover, over-expression of VlWRKY48 resulted in an increase in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes of catalase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase after drought treatment, as well as in the expression of several stress-related genes. We also observed that the VlWRKY48 over-expressing lines exhibited higher resistance to powdery mildew, as evidenced by fewer disease symptoms and an increased expression of defense-related genes following infection. Taken together, the results suggest that VlWRKY48 regulates a range of responses to drought stresses, and enhances resistance to powdery mildew infection.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

Eth:

Ethylene

SA:

Salicylic acid

MeJA:

Methyl jasmonate

ORF:

Open reading frame

MS:

Murashige and Skoog

QRT-PCR:

Quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

POD:

Peroxidase

CAT:

Catalase

TF:

Transcription factor

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31572110 and 31501740) and the Program for Innovative Research Team of Grape Germplasm Resources and Breeding (2013KCT-25).

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Author notes

  1. Jiao Zhao and Xiuming Zhang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas, College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Jiao Zhao, Xiuming Zhang, Rongrong Guo, Yaqiong Wang, Chunlei Guo, Zhi Li, Hua Gao & Xiping Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology and Germplasm Innovation in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Jiao Zhao, Xiuming Zhang, Yaqiong Wang, Chunlei Guo, Zhi Li, Hua Gao & Xiping Wang

  3. College of Agriculture, Yangtize University, Jingzhou, 434025, Hubei, China

    Jiao Zhao

  4. Shanghai Vocational College of Agriculture and Forestry, Shanghai, 201699, China

    Zhiping Chen

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  1. Jiao Zhao
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  2. Xiuming Zhang
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  3. Rongrong Guo
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Contributions

XW and JZ designed the study. JZ and YW performed the experiments. JZ, XZ and ZL performed data analysis. XW, ZC and HG provided guidance for the whole study. JZ, RG and XW Wrote and revised the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiping Wang.

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Communicated by Sergio J. Ochatt.

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Zhao, J., Zhang, X., Guo, R. et al. Over-expression of a grape WRKY transcription factor gene, VlWRKY48, in Arabidopsis thaliana increases disease resistance and drought stress tolerance. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 132, 359–370 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-017-1335-z

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