Identification of the group IIa WRKY subfamily and the functional analysis of GhWRKY17 in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

PLoS One. 2018 Jan 25;13(1):e0191681. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191681. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

WRKY transcription factors play important roles in plant defense, stress response, leaf senescence, and plant growth and development. Previous studies have revealed the important roles of the group IIa GhWRKY genes in cotton. To comprehensively analyze the group IIa GhWRKY genes in upland cotton, we identified 15 candidate group IIa GhWRKY genes in the Gossypium hirsutum genome. The phylogenetic tree, intron-exon structure, motif prediction and Ka/Ks analyses indicated that most group IIa GhWRKY genes shared high similarity and conservation and underwent purifying selection during evolution. In addition, we detected the expression patterns of several group IIa GhWRKY genes in individual tissues as well as during leaf senescence using public RNA sequencing data and real-time quantitative PCR. To better understand the functions of group IIa GhWRKYs in cotton, GhWRKY17 (KF669857) was isolated from upland cotton, and its sequence alignment, promoter cis-acting elements and subcellular localization were characterized. Moreover, the over-expression of GhWRKY17 in Arabidopsis up-regulated the senescence-associated genes AtWRKY53, AtSAG12 and AtSAG13, enhancing the plant's susceptibility to leaf senescence. These findings lay the foundation for further analysis and study of the functions of WRKY genes in cotton.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Genes, Plant*
  • Gossypium / classification*
  • Gossypium / genetics
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Leaves / genetics
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Transcription Factors / chemistry
  • Transcription Factors / genetics*

Substances

  • Transcription Factors

Grants and funding

The work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, grant no. 2016YFD0101006 (http://service.most.gov.cn) to SY. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.