title: Rice WRKY13 regulates cross talk between abiotic and biotic stress signaling pathways by selective binding to different cis-elements.
abstract: Plants use a complex signal transduction network to regulate their adaptation to the ever-changing environment. Rice (Oryza sativa) WRKY13 plays a vital role in the cross talk between abiotic and biotic stress signaling pathways by suppressing abiotic stress resistance and activating disease resistance. However, it is not clear how WRKY13 directly regulates this cross talk. Here, we show that WRKY13 is a transcriptional repressor. During the rice responses to drought stress and bacterial infection, WRKY13 selectively bound to certain site- and sequence-specific cis-elements on the promoters of SNAC1 (for STRESS RESPONSIVE NO APICAL MERISTEM, ARABIDOPSIS TRANSCRIPTION ACTIVATION FACTOR1/2, CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON), the overexpression of which increases drought resistance, and WRKY45-1, the knockout of which increases both bacterial disease and drought resistance. WRKY13 also bound to two cis-elements of its native promoter to autoregulate the balance of its gene expression in different physiological activities. WRKY13 was induced in leaf vascular tissue, where bacteria proliferate, during infection, and in guard cells, where the transcriptional factor SNAC1 enhances drought resistance, during both bacterial infection and drought stress. These results suggest that WRKY13 regulates the antagonistic cross talk between drought and disease resistance pathways by directly suppressing SNAC1 and WRKY45-1 and autoregulating its own expression via site- and sequence-specific cis-elements on the promoters of these genes in vascular tissue where bacteria proliferate and guard cells where the transcriptional factor SNAC1 mediates drought resistance by promoting stomatal closure.
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, National Center of Plant Gene Research , Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Hongtao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Xianghua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jinghua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Caiguo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Shiping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000378:metabolism; D003681:Dehydration; D055864:Droughts; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D012275:Oryza / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D054046:Plant Stomata / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D058526:Plant Vascular Bundle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000187:drug effects; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics*; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D014974:Xanthomonas / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; D010940:Plant Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D012965:Sodium Chloride