Salicylic acid (SA) activates immediate early transcription of genes controlled by a family of DNA promoter elements named as-1-like elements. These elements are functional in the promoter of glutathione S-transferase genes. We have previously shown that SA increases the binding of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv Xanthi nc) nuclear factors to the as-1 sequence in a process mediated by protein phosphorylation. In this study we give evidence for the participation of a nuclear protein kinase CK2 (casein kinase 2) in the pathway activated by SA in tobacco. The first line of evidence comes from the evaluation of the CK2 activity in nuclear extracts prepared from tobacco plants treated with SA or water as a control. Results from these experiments indicate that SA increases the nuclear CK2 activity. The second line of evidence derives from the evaluation of the in vivo effect of 5,6-dichloro-1-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl) benzimidazole (DRB), a cell-permeable CK2 inhibitor, on the responsiveness of the as-1 sequence to SA. Results from these experiments indicate that DRB impairs the activating effect of SA on the transcription of both, the GUS reporter gene controlled by a tetramer of the as-1 element, and the endogenous gnt35 gene encoding a glutathione S-transferase, in transgenic tobacco plants. DRB also impaired the increasing effect of SA on the binding of nuclear factors to the as-1 element. Furthermore, transcription of the as-1/GUS reporter gene activated by the synthetic auxin 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and by methyl jasmonate was also inhibited by DRB. To our knowledge, this is the first report in which activation of a CK2 enzyme by a plant hormone is reported.