Maize WRKY Transcription Factor ZmWRKY79 Positively Regulates Drought Tolerance through Elevating ABA Biosynthesis
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Results
2.1. ZmWRKY79 Exhibited Inducible Gene Expression under Drought Stress and ABA Treatment
2.2. Overexpression of ZmWRKY79 Enhanced Drought Tolerance in Arabidopsis
2.3. ZmWRKY79 Overexpression Decreased ROS Accumulation through Elevating Antioxidant Enzyme Activity under Drought Stress
2.4. ZmWRKY79 Overexpression Promoted Stomatal Closure by Enhancing ABA Synthesis under Drought Stress
2.5. ZmWRKY79 Transgenic Lines Had Efficient Root Systems under Drought Stress
2.6. Transcriptome Profiling of ZmWRKY79 Target Genes in Response to Drought Stress
2.7. ZmWRKY79 Stimulated Expression of ABA Biosynthetic Gene AAO3
2.8. ZmWRKY79 Activated Promoters of ZmAAO3 Genes
2.9. Silencing of ZmWRKY79 Attenuated Drought Resistance in Maize
3. Discussion
4. Materials and Methods
4.1. Plant Materials and Treatments
4.2. RNA Extraction and qRT-PCR Analysis
4.3. Generation of Transgenic Arabidopsis Plants
4.4. Drought Tolerance Assessment in Transgenic Lines
4.5. Root Growth of ZmWRKY79 Overexpression Arabidopsis
4.6. Antioxidant Enzyme Activity, DAB Staining, MDA, and Soluble Sugar Content
4.7. Analysis of Endogenous ABA and JA Contents
4.8. Water Loss from Detached Leaves
4.9. Measurement of Stomatal Aperture
4.10. Preparation of Maize Leaf Protoplast along with Plasmid Transfection
4.11. Promoter Activation Assays
4.12. RNA-Seq Analysis
4.13. Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) of ZmWRKY79 in Maize
4.14. Phylogenetic Analysis of Maize WRKY Transcription Factor Family
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Hill, R.V.; Kumar, N.; Magnan, N.; Makhija, S.; de Nicola, F.; Spielman, D.J.; Ward, P.S. Insuring Against Droughts: Evidence on Agricultural Intensification and Index Insurance Demand from a Randomized Evaluation in Rural Bangladesh; IFPRI Discussion Paper No. 1630; International Food Policy Research Institute: Washington, DC, USA, 2017. [Google Scholar]
- Guo, Z.; Xu, H.; Lei, Q.; Du, J.; Li, C.; Wang, C.; Yang, Y.; Yang, Y.; Sun, X. The Arabidopsis transcription factor LBD15 mediates ABA signaling and tolerance of water-deficit stress by regulating ABI4 expression. Plant J. 2020, 104, 510–521. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Zhang, J.; Zhang, H.; Srivastava, A.K.; Pan, Y.; Bai, J.; Fang, J.; Shi, H.; Zhu, J.-K. Knockdown of rice microRNA166 confers drought resistance by causing leaf rolling and altering stem xylem development. Plant Physiol. 2018, 176, 2082–2094. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Zhu, J.-K. Abiotic Stress Signaling and Responses in Plants. Cell 2016, 167, 313–324. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Huang, G.-T.; Ma, S.-L.; Bai, L.-P.; Zhang, L.; Ma, H.; Jia, P.; Liu, J.; Zhong, M.; Guo, Z.-F. Signal transduction during cold, salt, and drought stresses in plants. Mol. Biol. Rep. 2012, 39, 969–987. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Miller, G.; Suzuki, N.; Ciftci-Yilmaz, S.; Mittler, R. Reactive oxygen species homeostasis and signalling during drought and salinity stresses. Plant Cell Environ. 2010, 33, 453–467. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Hu, H.; Xiong, L. Genetic Engineering and Breeding of Drought-Resistant Crops. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 2014, 65, 715–741. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Melhorn, V.; Matsumi, K.; Koiwai, H.; Ikegami, K.; Okamoto, M.; Nambara, E.; Bittner, F.; Koshiba, T. Transient expression of AtNCED3 and AAO3 genes in guard cells causes stomatal closure in Vicia faba. J. Plant Res. 2008, 121, 125–131. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Koiwai, H.; Nakaminami, K.; Seo, M.; Mitsuhashi, W.; Toyomasu, T.; Koshiba, T. Tissue-Specific Localization of an Abscisic Acid Biosynthetic Enzyme, AAO3, in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol. 2004, 134, 1697–1707. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Seo, M.; Peeters, A.J.; Koiwai, H.; Oritani, T.; Marion-Poll, A.; Zeevaart, J.A.; Koornneef, M.; Kamiya, Y.; Koshiba, T. The Arabidopsis aldehyde oxidase 3 (AAO3) gene product catalyzes the final step in abscisic acid biosynthesis in leaves. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2000, 97, 12908–12913. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Meraj, T.A.; Fu, J.; Raza, M.A.; Zhu, C.; Shen, Q.; Xu, D.; Wang, Q. Transcriptional Factors Regulate Plant Stress Responses Through Mediating Secondary Metabolism. Genes 2020, 11, 346. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Pan, Y.; Seymour, G.B.; Lu, C.; Hu, Z.; Chen, X.; Chen, G. An ethylene response factor (ERF5) promoting adaptation to drought and salt tolerance in tomato. Plant Cell Rep. 2012, 31, 349–360. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Wang, F.; Chen, H.-W.; Li, Q.; Hao-Wei, C.; Li, W.; Zhang, W.-K.; Ma, B.; Bi, Y.-D.; Lai, Y.-C.; Liu, X.-L.; et al. GmWRKY27 interacts with GmMYB174 to reduce expression of GmNAC29 for stress tolerance in soybean plants. Plant J. 2015, 83, 224–236. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Joshi, R.; Wani, S.; Singh, B.; Bohra, A.; Dar, Z.; Lone, A.; Pareek, A.; Singla-Pareek, S.L. Transcription Factors and Plants Response to Drought Stress: Current Understanding and Future Directions. Front. Plant Sci. 2016, 7, 1029. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Fang, L.; Su, L.; Sun, X.; Li, X.; Sun, M.; Karungo, S.K.; Fang, S.; Chu, J.; Li, S.; Xin, H. Expression of Vitis amurensis NAC26 in Arabidopsis enhances drought tolerance by modulating jasmonic acid synthesis. J. Exp. Bot. 2016, 67, 2829–2845. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Eulgem, T.; Rushton, P.J.; Robatzek, S.; Somssich, I.E. The WRKY superfamily of plant transcription factors. Trends Plant Sci. 2000, 5, 199–206. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ciolkowski, I.; Wanke, D.; Birkenbihl, R.P.; Somssich, I.E. Studies on DNA-binding selectivity of WRKY transcription factors lend structural clues into WRKY-domain function. Plant Mol. Biol. 2008, 68, 81–92. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Pandey, S.P.; Somssich, I.E. The Role of WRKY Transcription Factors in Plant Immunity. Plant Physiol. 2009, 150, 1648–1655. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Ding, Z.J.; Yan, J.Y.; Xu, X.Y.; Yu, D.Q.; Li, G.X.; Zhang, S.Q.; Zheng, S.J. Transcription factor WRKY 46 regulates osmotic stress responses and stomatal movement independently in A rabidopsis. Plant J. 2014, 79, 13–27. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Xu, Y.-H.; Wang, J.-W.; Wang, S.; Wang, J.-Y.; Chen, X.-Y. Characterization of GaWRKY1, a cotton transcription factor that regulates the sesquiterpene synthase gene (+)-δ-cadinene synthase-A. Plant Physiol. 2004, 135, 507–515. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Yu, Y.; Liu, Z.; Wang, L.; Kim, S.G.; Seo, P.J.; Qiao, M.; Wang, N.; Li, S.; Cao, X.; Park, C.M. WRKY 71 accelerates flowering via the direct activation of FLOWERING LOCUS T and LEAFY in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant J. 2016, 85, 96–106. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Ren, X.; Chen, Z.; Liu, Y.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, M.; Liu, Q.; Hong, X.; Zhu, J.K.; Gong, Z. ABO3, a WRKY transcription factor, mediates plant responses to abscisic acid and drought tolerance in Arabidopsis. Plant J. 2010, 63, 417–429. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Ali, M.A.; Azeem, F.; Nawaz, M.A.; Acet, T.; Abbas, A.; Imran, Q.M.; Shah, K.H.; Rehman, H.M.; Chung, G.; Yang, S.H. Transcription factors WRKY11 and WRKY17 are involved in abiotic stress responses in Arabidopsis. J. Plant Physiol. 2018, 226, 12–21. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Liu, Y.; Yang, T.; Lin, Z.; Guo, B.; Xing, C.; Zhao, L.; Dong, H.; Gao, J.; Xie, Z.; Zhang, S.; et al. A WRKY transcription factor PbrWRKY53 from Pyrus betulaefolia is involved in drought tolerance and AsA accumulation. Plant Biotechnol. J. 2019, 17, 1770–1787. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Wang, C.-T.; Ru, J.-N.; Liu, Y.-W.; Yang, J.-F.; Li, M.; Xu, Z.-S.; Fu, J.-D. The Maize WRKY Transcription Factor ZmWRKY40 Confers Drought Resistance in Transgenic Arabidopsis. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19, 2580. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Wang, C.-T.; Ru, J.-N.; Liu, Y.-W.; Li, M.; Zhao, D.; Yang, J.-F.; Fu, J.-D.; Xu, Z.-S. Maize WRKY Transcription Factor ZmWRKY106 Confers Drought and Heat Tolerance in Transgenic Plants. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19, 3046. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Fu, J.; Liu, Q.; Wang, C.; Liang, J.; Liu, L.; Wang, Q. ZmWRKY79 positively regulates maize phytoalexin biosynthetic gene expression and is involved in stress response. J. Exp. Bot. 2018, 69, 497–510. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fujita, Y.; Fujita, M.; Shinozaki, K.; Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, K. ABA-mediated transcriptional regulation in response to osmotic stress in plants. J. Plant Res. 2011, 124, 509–525. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Tallman, G. Are diurnal patterns of stomatal movement the result of alternating metabolism of endogenous guard cell ABA and accumulation of ABA delivered to the apoplast around guard cells by transpiration? J. Exp. Bot. 2004, 55, 1963–1976. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Li, Z.; Liu, C.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, B.; Ran, Q.; Zhang, J. The bHLH family member ZmPTF1 regulates drought tolerance in maize by promoting root development and abscisic acid synthesis. J. Exp. Bot. 2019, 70, 5471–5486. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Xiong, L.; Zhu, J.-K. Regulation of Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis. Plant Physiol. 2003, 133, 29–36. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Bang, S.W.; Lee, D.-K.; Jung, H.; Chung, P.J.; Kim, Y.S.; Choi, Y.D.; Suh, J.-W.; Kim, J.-K. Overexpression of OsTF1L, a rice HD-Zip transcription factor, promotes lignin biosynthesis and stomatal closure that improves drought tolerance. Plant Biotechnol. J. 2019, 17, 118–131. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Wei, W.; Liang, D.; Bian, X.; Shen, M.; Xiao, J.; Zhang, W.; Ma, B.; Lin, Q.; Lv, J.; Chen, X.; et al. GmWRKY54 improves drought tolerance through activating genes in abscisic acid and Ca2+ signaling pathways in transgenic soybean. Plant J. 2019, 100, 384–398. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Wei, K.F.; Chen, J.; Chen, Y.F.; Wu, L.J.; Xie, D.X. Molecular phylogenetic and expression analysis of the complete WRKY transcription factor family in maize, DNA research. Int. J. Rapid Publ. Rep. Genes Genomes 2012, 19, 153–164. [Google Scholar]
- Zhao, X.; Wei, J.; He, L.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, Y.; Xu, X.; Wei, Y.; Ge, S.; Ding, D.; Liu, M.; et al. Identification of Fatty Acid Desaturases in Maize and Their Differential Responses to Low and High Temperature. Genes 2019, 10, 445. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Maschietto, V.; Colombi, C.; Pirona, R.; Pea, G.; Strozzi, F.; Marocco, A.; Rossini, L.; Lanubile, A. QTL mapping and candidate genes for resistance to Fusarium ear rot and fumonisin contamination in maize. BMC Plant Biol. 2017, 17, 20. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Vishwakarma, K.; Upadhyay, N.; Kumar, N.; Yadav, G.; Singh, J.; Mishra, R.K.; Kumar, V.; Verma, R.; Upadhyay, R.G.; Pandey, M.; et al. Abscisic Acid Signaling and Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants: A Review on Current Knowledge and Future Prospects. Front. Plant Sci. 2017, 8, 161. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Savchenko, T.; Kolla, V.A.; Wang, C.-Q.; Nasafi, Z.; Hicks, D.R.; Phadungchob, B.; Chehab, W.E.; Brandizzi, F.; Froehlich, J.; Dehesh, K. Functional Convergence of Oxylipin and Abscisic Acid Pathways Controls Stomatal Closure in Response to Drought. Plant Physiol. 2014, 164, 1151–1160. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Vaughan, M.M.; Christensen, S.; Schmelz, E.A.; Huffaker, A.; McAuslane, H.J.; Alborn, H.T.; Romero, M.; Allen, L.H.; Teal, P.E. Accumulation of terpenoid phytoalexins in maize roots is associated with drought tolerance. Plant Cell Environ. 2015, 38, 2195–2207. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Schmelz, E.A.; Kaplan, F.; Huffaker, A.; Dafoe, N.J.; Vaughan, M.M.; Ni, X.; Rocca, J.R.; Alborn, H.T.; Teal, P.E. Identity, regulation, and activity of inducible diterpenoid phytoalexins in maize. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2011, 108, 5455–5460. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Ju, Y.; Zhong, R.; Christensen, M.J.; Zhang, X. Effects of Epichloë gansuensis endophyte on the root and rhizosphere soil bacteria of Achnatherum inebrians under different moisture conditions. Front. Microbiol. 2020, 11, 747. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kiranmai, K.; Lokanadha Rao, G.; Pandurangaiah, M.; Nareshkumar, A.; Amaranatha Reddy, V.; Lokesh, U.; Venkatesh, B.; Anthony Johnson, A.; Sudhakar, C. A novel WRKY transcription factor, MuWRKY3 (Macrotyloma uniflorum Lam. Verdc.) enhances drought stress tolerance in transgenic groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) plants. Front. Plant Sci. 2018, 9, 346. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Tak, H.; Negi, S.; Ganapathi, T. Banana NAC transcription factor MusaNAC042 is positively associated with drought and salinity tolerance. Protoplasma 2017, 254, 803–816. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Fu, J.; Liu, L.; Liu, Q.; Shen, Q.; Wang, C.; Yang, P.; Zhu, C.; Wang, Q. ZmMYC2 exhibits diverse functions and enhances JA signaling in transgenic Arabidopsis. Plant Cell Rep. 2020, 39, 273–288. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jaffar, M.A.; Song, A.; Faheem, M.; Chen, S.; Jiang, J.; Liu, C.; Fan, Q.; Chen, F. Involvement of CmWRKY10 in Drought Tolerance of Chrysanthemum through the ABA-Signaling Pathway. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2016, 17, 693. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhang, C.; Liu, J.; Zhang, Y.; Cai, X.; Gong, P.; Zhang, J.; Wang, T.; Li, H.; Ye, Z. Overexpression of SlGMEs leads to ascorbate accumulation with enhanced oxidative stress, cold, and salt tolerance in tomato. Plant Cell Rep. 2011, 30, 389–398. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Xie, Y.; Bao, C.; Chen, P.; Cao, F.; Liu, X.; Geng, D.; Li, Z.; Li, X.; Hou, N.; Zhi, F.; et al. Abscisic acid homeostasis is mediated by feedback regulation of MdMYB88 and MdMYB124. J. Exp. Bot. 2021, 72, 592–607. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Yoo, S.-D.; Cho, Y.-H.; Sheen, J. Arabidopsis mesophyll protoplasts: A versatile cell system for transient gene expression analysis. Nat. Protoc. 2007, 2, 1565–1572. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Love, M.I.; Huber, W.; Anders, S. Moderated estimation of fold change and dispersion for RNA-seq data with DESeq2. Genome Biol. 2014, 15, 550. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Tian, T.; Liu, Y.; Yan, H.; You, Q.; Yi, X.; Du, Z.; Xu, W.; Su, Z. agriGO v2.0: A GO analysis toolkit for the agricultural community, 2017 update. Nucleic Acids Res. 2017, 45, W122–W129. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Yu, G.; Wang, L.-G.; Han, Y.; He, Q.-Y. clusterProfiler: An R Package for Comparing Biological Themes Among Gene Clusters. OMICS J. Integr. Biol. 2012, 16, 284–287. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Wang, R.; Yang, X.; Wang, N.; Liu, X.; Nelson, R.S.; Li, W.; Fan, Z.; Zhou, T. An efficient virus-induced gene silencing vector for maize functional genomics research. Plant J. 2016, 86, 102–115. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Yuan, C.; Li, C.; Yan, L.; Jackson, A.O.; Liu, Z.; Han, C.; Yu, J.; Li, D. A High Throughput Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus Vector for Virus Induced Gene Silencing in Monocots and Dicots. PLoS ONE 2011, 6, e26468. [Google Scholar]
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Gulzar, F.; Fu, J.; Zhu, C.; Yan, J.; Li, X.; Meraj, T.A.; Shen, Q.; Hassan, B.; Wang, Q. Maize WRKY Transcription Factor ZmWRKY79 Positively Regulates Drought Tolerance through Elevating ABA Biosynthesis. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 10080. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms221810080
Gulzar F, Fu J, Zhu C, Yan J, Li X, Meraj TA, Shen Q, Hassan B, Wang Q. Maize WRKY Transcription Factor ZmWRKY79 Positively Regulates Drought Tolerance through Elevating ABA Biosynthesis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021; 22(18):10080. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms221810080
Chicago/Turabian StyleGulzar, Faiza, Jingye Fu, Chenying Zhu, Jie Yan, Xinglin Li, Tehseen Ahmad Meraj, Qinqin Shen, Beenish Hassan, and Qiang Wang. 2021. "Maize WRKY Transcription Factor ZmWRKY79 Positively Regulates Drought Tolerance through Elevating ABA Biosynthesis" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, no. 18: 10080. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms221810080