title: WRKY71 accelerates flowering via the direct activation of FLOWERING LOCUS T and LEAFY in Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: Flowering is crucial for achieving reproductive success. A large number of well-delineated factors affecting flowering are involved in complex genetic networks in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, the underlying part played by the WRKY transcription factors in this process is not yet clear. Here, we report that WRKY71 is able to accelerate flowering in Arabidopsis. An activation-tagged mutant WRKY71-1D and a constitutive over-expresser of WRKY71 both flowered earlier than the wild type (WT). In contrast, both the RNA interference-based multiple WRKY knock-out mutant (w71w8 + 28RNAi) and the dominant repression line (W71-SRDX) flowered later. Gene expression analysis showed that the transcript abundance of the flowering time integrator gene FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and the floral meristem identity genes LEAFY (LFY), APETALA1 (AP1) and FRUITFULL (FUL) were greater in WRKY71-1D than in the WT, but lower in w71w8 + 28RNAi and W71-SRDX. Further, WRKY71 was shown to bind to the W-boxes in the FT and LFY promoters in vitro and in vivo. The suggestion is that WRKY71 activity hastens flowering via the direct activation of FT and LFY.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China.
authors.forename: Yanchong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China.
authors.forename: Zhenhua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Molecular Signaling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Gyu
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Molecular Signaling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742, Korea.
authors.forename: Pil J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China.
authors.forename: Shuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Molecular Signaling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742, Korea.
authors.forename: Chung-Mo
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Plant Cell Engineering and Germplasm Innovation, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China.
authors.forename: Fengning
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xiang
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D015870:Gene Expression; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018519:Meristem / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D009154:Mutation; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C418905:FT protein, Arabidopsis; C074747:LFY protein, Arabidopsis; D014157:Transcription Factors; C000610964:WRKY71 protein, Arabidopsis
keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; FLOWERING LOCUS T; LEAFY; WRKY71; flowering; transcription factor