Abstract
AP2 transcription factors play a crucial role in plant development and reproductive growth, as well as response to biotic and abiotic stress. However, the role of TaAP2-15, in the interaction between wheat and the stripe fungus, Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), remains elusive. In this study, we isolated TaAP2-15 and characterized its function during the interaction. TaAP2-15 was localized in the nucleus of wheat and N. benthamiana. Silencing of TaAP2-15 by barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV)-mediated VIGS (virus-induced gene silencing) increased the susceptibility of wheat to Pst accompanied by enhanced growth of the pathogen (number of haustoria, haustorial mother cells and hyphal length). We confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR that the transcript levels of pathogenesis-related genes (TaPR1 and TaPR2) were down-regulated, while reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging genes (TaCAT3 and TaFSOD3D) were induced accompanied by reduced accumulation of H2O2. Furthermore, we found that TaAP2-15 interacted with a zinc finger protein (TaRZFP34) that is a homolog of OsRZFP34 in rice. Together our findings demonstrate that TaAP2-15 is positively involved in resistance of wheat to the stripe rust fungus and provides new insights into the roles of AP2 in the host-pathogen interaction.
Highlights
It is estimated that global wheat (Triticum aestivum) yields are decreased by 3% to more than 90% per year due to the obligate biotrophic pathogen Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), which threats global food supply [1,2]
A common defense signaling pathway contributes to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and rapid influx of ions, accompanied by accumulation of salicylic acid (SA), pathogenesis-related (PR) gene expression and cell death related to the hypersensitive response (HR) [29,30]
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Summary
It is estimated that global wheat (Triticum aestivum) yields are decreased by 3% to more than 90% per year due to the obligate biotrophic pathogen Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), which threats global food supply [1,2]. Transcription factors (TFs) work primarily to control gene expression and the interactions between different signaling pathways [7,8] These TFs code for proteins that bind to the cis-acting element in the region of the gene promoter to influence the expression of downstream genes that generate stress responses in eukaryotes [9,10]. In Arabidopsis, an AP2 gene, ADAP (ARIA-interacting double AP2-domain protein) has been reported to play a significant role in abscisic acid (ABA) and drought responses [26] He et al (2019) reported that CsAP2-09 contributes to citrus canker disease resistance caused by Xanthomonas citri sbusp. 2021, 22, 2080 between wheat and Pst. In this study we identified and functionally characterized one AP2 gene, TaAP2-15, and dissected its important roles in wheat resistance to Pst. TaAP2-15 was found to interact with a zinc finger protein RZFP34/CH3 oYfR181, an ortholog of Arabidopsis AT5G25560 and rice OsRZFP34 (Os01t0719100). Salicylic acid responsiveness (TCA-element) was found in the promoter of TaAP2-15 (Table 1)
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