Genome-wide investigation of the WRKY transcription factor gene family in weeping forsythia: expression profile and cold and drought stress responses

Abstract

Weeping forsythia is a wide-spread shrub in China with important ornamental, medicinal and ecological values. It is widely distributed in China's warm temperate zone. In plants, WRKY transcription factors play important regulatory roles in seed germination, flower development, fruit ripening and coloring, and biotic and abiotic stress response. To date, WRKY transcription factors have not been systematically studied in weeping forsythia. In this study, we identified 79 WRKY genes in weeping forsythia and classified them according to their naming rules in Arabidopsis thaliana. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that, except for IIe subfamily, whose clustering was inconsistent with A. thaliana clustering, other subfamily clustering groups were consistent. Cis-element analysis showed that WRKY genes related to pathogen resistance in weeping forsythia might be related to methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid-mediated signaling pathways. Combining cis-element and expression pattern analyses of WRKY genes showed that more than half of WRKY genes were involved in light-dependent development and morphogenesis in different tissues. The gene expression results showed that 13 WRKY genes were involved in drought response, most of which might be related to the abscisic acid signaling pathway, and a few of which might be regulated by MYB transcription factors. The gene expression results under cold stress showed that 17 WRKY genes were involved in low temperature response, and 9 of them had low temperature responsiveness cis-elements. Our study of WRKY family in weeping forsythia provided useful resources for molecular breeding and important clues for their functional verification.

Physiological Characteristic Changes and Transcriptome Analysis of Maize (Zea mays L.) Roots under Drought Stress

“…The drought tolerance of NAC TFs has been demonstrated in various crops, such as rice [ 31 ] and soybean [ 32 ]. Yang et al found 13 WRKY genes involved in drought response in the study of weeping forsythia, most of which responded to drought stress by regulating the abscisic acid signaling pathway [ 33 ]. GmERF113 downregulates abscisic acid 8′-hydroxylase and upregulates various drought-related genes, which improves drought resistance and affects the ABA content in soybean [ 34 ].…”

Overexpression ofPpGL2fromPrunus persicaenhanced soybean drought tolerance

“…Among these stressors, drought stands out as particularly critical due to its frequent occurrence, prolonged duration, and wide-ranging impact. In response to stress signals such as drought, high salinity, and cold, plants activate specific functional genes through signal transduction processes [1]. Finally, these gene products prompt adaptive physiological and biochemical responses, facilitating plant survival [2].…”