Capsicum annuum WRKY protein CaWRKY1 is a negative regulator of pathogen defense.
Plants respond to pathogens by regulating a network of signaling pathways that fine-tune transcriptional activation of defense-related genes. The aim of this study was to determine the role of Capsicum annuum WRKY zinc finger-domain transcription factor 1 (CaWRKY1) in defense. In previous studies, CaWRKY1 was found to be rapidly induced in C. annuum (chili pepper) leaves by incompatible and compatible pathogen inoculations, but the complexity of the network of the WRKY family prevented the function of CaWRKY1 in defense from being elucidated. Virus-induced gene silencing of CaWRKY1 in chili pepper leaves resulted in decreased growth of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria race 1. CaWRKY1-overexpressing transgenic plants showed accelerated hypersensitive cell death in response to infection with tobacco mosaic virus and Pseudomonas syringe pv. tabaci. Lower levels of pathogenesis-related gene induction were observed in CaWRKY1-overexpressing transgenic plants following salicylic acid (SA) treatments. This work suggests that the newly characterized CaWRKY1, which is strongly induced by pathogen infections and the signal molecule SA, acts as a regulator to turn off systemic acquired resistance once the pathogen challenge has diminished and to prevent spurious activation of defense responses at suboptimal concentrations of SA.
Oh
Sang-Keun
SK
Plant Genome Research Center, KRIBB, P.O. Box 115, Yusung, Daejeon 305-600, Korea.
Baek
Kwang-Hyun
KH
Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
Park
Jeong Mee
JM
Plant Genome Research Center, KRIBB, P.O. Box 115, Yusung, Daejeon 305-600, Korea.
Yi
So Young
SY
Plant Genome Research Center, KRIBB, P.O. Box 115, Yusung, Daejeon 305-600, Korea.
Yu
Seung Hun
SH
Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764, Korea.
Kamoun
Sophien
S
Department of Plant Pathology, OARDC, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691-4096, USA.
Choi
Doil
D
Plant Genome Research Center, KRIBB, P.O. Box 115, Yusung, Daejeon 305-600, Korea.|Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea.
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002212:Capsicum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D020868:Gene Silencing; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009154:Mutation; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020156:Salicylic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D020156:Salicylic Acid