First published online April 7, 2006; 10.1105/tpc.105.037523
The Plant Cell 18:1310-1326 (2006)
© 2006 American Society of Plant Biologists
Physical and Functional Interactions between Pathogen-Induced Arabidopsis WRKY18, WRKY40, and WRKY60 Transcription Factors[W]
Xinping Xua,1,
Chunhong Chenb,2,
Baofang Fana and
Zhixiang Chena,3
a Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2054
b Department of Microbiology, Molecular Biology, and Biochemistry, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-3052
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail zhixiang{at}purdue.edu; fax 765-494-5896.
Limited information is available about the roles of specific WRKY transcription factors in plant defense. We report physical and functional interactions between structurally related and pathogen-induced WRKY18, WRKY40, and WRKY60 transcription factors in Arabidopsis thaliana. The three WRKY proteins formed both homocomplexes and heterocomplexes and DNA binding activities were significantly shifted depending on which WRKY proteins were present in these complexes. Single WRKY mutants exhibited no or small alterations in response to the hemibiotrophic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae and the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. However, wrky18 wrky40 and wrky18 wrky60 double mutants and the wrky18 wrky40 wrky60 triple mutant were substantially more resistant to P. syringae but more susceptible to B. cinerea than wild-type plants. Thus, the three WRKY proteins have partially redundant roles in plant responses to the two distinct types of pathogens, with WRKY18 playing a more important role than the other two. The contrasting responses of these WRKY mutants to the two pathogens correlated with opposite effects on pathogen-induced expression of salicylic acidregulated PATHOGENESIS-RELATED1 and jasmonic acidregulated PDF1.2. While constitutive expression of WRKY18 enhanced resistance to P. syringae, its coexpression with WRKY40 or WRKY60 made plants more susceptible to both P. syringae and B. cinerea. These results indicate that the three WRKY proteins interact both physically and functionally in a complex pattern of overlapping, antagonistic, and distinct roles in plant responses to different types of microbial pathogens.
This article has been cited by other articles:

|
 |

|
 |
 
X. Zou, D. Neuman, and Q. J. Shen
Interactions of Two Transcriptional Repressors and Two Transcriptional Activators in Modulating Gibberellin Signaling in Aleurone Cells
Plant Physiology,
September 1, 2008;
148(1):
176 - 186.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. Skibbe, N. Qu, I. Galis, and I. T. Baldwin
Induced Plant Defenses in the Natural Environment: Nicotiana attenuata WRKY3 and WRKY6 Coordinate Responses to Herbivory
PLANT CELL,
July 1, 2008;
20(7):
1984 - 2000.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
R. Ramamoorthy, S.-Y. Jiang, N. Kumar, P. N. Venkatesh, and S. Ramachandran
A Comprehensive Transcriptional Profiling of the WRKY Gene Family in Rice Under Various Abiotic and Phytohormone Treatments
Plant Cell Physiol.,
June 1, 2008;
49(6):
865 - 879.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
C. Denoux, R. Galletti, N. Mammarella, S. Gopalan, D. Werck, G. De Lorenzo, S. Ferrari, F. M. Ausubel, and J. Dewdney
Activation of Defense Response Pathways by OGs and Flg22 Elicitors in Arabidopsis Seedlings
Mol Plant,
May 22, 2008;
(2008)
ssn019v1.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
D. H. Xing, Z. B. Lai, Z. Y. Zheng, K. M. Vinod, B. F. Fan, and Z. X. Chen
Stress- and Pathogen-Induced Arabidopsis WRKY48 is a Transcriptional Activator that Represses Plant Basal Defense
Mol Plant,
May 8, 2008;
(2008)
ssn020v1.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
Y. Peng, L. E. Bartley, X. Chen, C. Dardick, M. Chern, R. Ruan, P. E. Canlas, and P. C. Ronald
OsWRKY62 is a Negative Regulator of Basal and Xa21-Mediated Defense against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae in Rice
Mol Plant,
May 1, 2008;
1(3):
446 - 458.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. C. van Verk, D. Pappaioannou, L. Neeleman, J. F. Bol, and H. J.M. Linthorst
A Novel WRKY Transcription Factor Is Required for Induction of PR-1a Gene Expression by Salicylic Acid and Bacterial Elicitors
Plant Physiology,
April 1, 2008;
146(4):
1983 - 1995.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
S. Lu, L. Li, X. Yi, C. P. Joshi, and V. L. Chiang
Differential expression of three eucalyptus secondary cell wall-related cellulose synthase genes in response to tension stress
J. Exp. Bot.,
February 16, 2008;
(2008)
erm350v1.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. C. Palmieri, S. Sell, X. Huang, M. Scherf, T. Werner, J. Durner, and C. Lindermayr
Nitric oxide-responsive genes and promoters in Arabidopsis thaliana: a bioinformatics approach
J. Exp. Bot.,
February 13, 2008;
(2008)
erm345v1.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
H. Chen, Y. Zou, Y. Shang, H. Lin, Y. Wang, R. Cai, X. Tang, and J.-M. Zhou
Firefly Luciferase Complementation Imaging Assay for Protein-Protein Interactions in Plants
Plant Physiology,
February 1, 2008;
146(2):
368 - 376.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
R. W.M. Fung, M. Gonzalo, C. Fekete, L. G. Kovacs, Y. He, E. Marsh, L. M. McIntyre, D. P. Schachtman, and W. Qiu
Powdery Mildew Induces Defense-Oriented Reprogramming of the Transcriptome in a Susceptible But Not in a Resistant Grapevine
Plant Physiology,
January 1, 2008;
146(1):
236 - 249.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
Y. Jin, D. Ma, J. Dong, J. Jin, D. Li, C. Deng, and T. Wang
HC-Pro Protein of Potato Virus Y Can Interact with Three Arabidopsis 20S Proteasome Subunits In Planta
J. Virol.,
December 1, 2007;
81(23):
12881 - 12888.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
A. Santner and M. Estelle
The JAZ Proteins Link Jasmonate Perception with Transcriptional Changes
PLANT CELL,
December 1, 2007;
19(12):
3839 - 3842.
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
P. Mao, M. Duan, C. Wei, and Y. Li
WRKY62 Transcription Factor Acts Downstream of Cytosolic NPR1 and Negatively Regulates Jasmonate-Responsive Gene Expression
Plant Cell Physiol.,
June 1, 2007;
48(6):
833 - 842.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. Shimono, S. Sugano, A. Nakayama, C.-J. Jiang, K. Ono, S. Toki, and H. Takatsuji
Rice WRKY45 Plays a Crucial Role in Benzothiadiazole-Inducible Blast Resistance
PLANT CELL,
June 1, 2007;
19(6):
2064 - 2076.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. Kesarwani, J. Yoo, and X. Dong
Genetic Interactions of TGA Transcription Factors in the Regulation of Pathogenesis-Related Genes and Disease Resistance in Arabidopsis
Plant Physiology,
May 1, 2007;
144(1):
336 - 346.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
X. Cui, B. Fan, J. Scholz, and Z. Chen
Roles of Arabidopsis Cyclin-Dependent Kinase C Complexes in Cauliflower Mosaic Virus Infection, Plant Growth, and Development
PLANT CELL,
April 1, 2007;
19(4):
1388 - 1402.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
Q.-H. Shen, Y. Saijo, S. Mauch, C. Biskup, S. Bieri, B. Keller, H. Seki, B. Ulker, I. E. Somssich, and P. Schulze-Lefert
Nuclear Activity of MLA Immune Receptors Links Isolate-Specific and Basal Disease-Resistance Responses
Science,
February 23, 2007;
315(5815):
1098 - 1103.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
C. Galuschka, M. Schindler, L. Bulow, and R. Hehl
AthaMap web tools for the analysis and identification of co-regulated genes
Nucleic Acids Res.,
January 12, 2007;
35(suppl_1):
D857 - D862.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
N. Journot-Catalino, I. E. Somssich, D. Roby, and T. Kroj
The Transcription Factors WRKY11 and WRKY17 Act as Negative Regulators of Basal Resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana
PLANT CELL,
November 1, 2006;
18(11):
3289 - 3302.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
K.-C. Kim, B. Fan, and Z. Chen
Pathogen-Induced Arabidopsis WRKY7 Is a Transcriptional Repressor and Enhances Plant Susceptibility to Pseudomonas syringae
Plant Physiology,
November 1, 2006;
142(3):
1180 - 1192.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|
|
|