TaLHY, a 1R-MYB Transcription Factor, Plays an Important Role in Disease Resistance against Stripe Rust Fungus and Ear Heading in Wheat.

Zijin Zhang,Peigao Luo,Hanmei Liu,Yongying Su,Jieming Chen,Yanger Chen,Xiaogang Du,Huaiyu Zhang,Dan Wang,Aimin Zhang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0127723

Zijin Zhang, Peigao Luo + Show 8 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127723

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Abstract

LHY (late elongated hypocotyl) is an important gene that regulates and controls biological rhythms in plants. Additionally, LHY is highly expressed in the SSH (suppression subtractive hybridization) cDNA library-induced stripe rust pathogen (CYR32) in our previous research. To identify the function of the LHY gene in disease resistance against stripe rust, we used RACE-PCR technology to clone TaLHY in the wheat variety Chuannong19. The cDNA of TaLHY is 3085 bp long with an open reading frame of 1947 bp. TaLHY is speculated to encode a 70.3 kDa protein of 648 amino acids , which has one typical plant MYB-DNA binding domain; additionally, phylogenetic tree shows that TaLHY has the highest homology with LHY of Brachypodium distachyon(BdLHY-like). Quantitative fluorescence PCR indicates that TaLHY has higher expression in the leaf, ear and stem of wheat but lower expression in the root. Infestation of CYR32 can result in up-regulated expression of TaLHY, peaking at 72 h. Using VIGS (virus-induced gene silencing) technology to disease-resistant wheat in the fourth leaf stage, plants with silenced TaLHY cannot complete their heading stage. Through the compatible interaction with the stripe rust physiological race CYR32, Chuannong 19 loses its immune capability toward the stripe rust pathogen, indicating that TaLHY may regulate and participate in the heading of wheat, as well as the defense responses against stripe rust infection.

Highlights

IntroductionTFs (transcription factors) are protein molecules that can bind to the cis-acting elements in the promoter region of eukaryotic genes
TFs are protein molecules that can bind to the cis-acting elements in the promoter region of eukaryotic genes
Sequence analysis indicated that this gene included a complete 1,947-bp open-reading frame (ORF) that encodes a putative protein composed of 648 amino acids with a predicted theoretical molecular weight of 23.13 kDa and an isoeletric point of 6.34 kDa

Summary

Introduction

TFs (transcription factors) are protein molecules that can bind to the cis-acting elements in the promoter region of eukaryotic genes. They can activate or inhibit the transcription of the target genes by interaction with other related proteins[1]. A Newly Cloned Gene against Stripe Rust Fungus in Wheat transcription factor gene families, all of which have a highly conservative DNA binding domain. The binding domain normally includes 1–3 incompletely repeating sequences (Rs), and each R segment comprises approximately 52 conserved amino acid residues and intervening sequences, folding into a helix-turn-helix (HTH) structure[2]. According to the quantity of repeating R segments, MYB transcription factors can be divided into four sub-categories: 1R proteins (R1/R2-MYB), 2R proteins (R2R3-MYB), 3R proteins (R1R2R3-MYB) and 4R proteins (R1R2R2R1/R2-MYB)[3]

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