Function analysis of GhWRKY53 regulating cotton resistance to verticillium wilt by JA and SA signaling pathways

Youzhong Li; Haihong Chen; Youwu Wang; Jincheng Zhu; Xiaoli Zhang; Jie Sun; Feng Liu; Yiying Zhao

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1203695

Function analysis of GhWRKY53 regulating cotton resistance to verticillium wilt by JA and SA signaling pathways

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Jun 2:14:1203695. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1203695. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Youzhong Li^{1

2}, Haihong Chen¹, Youwu Wang³, Jincheng Zhu¹, Xiaoli Zhang¹, Jie Sun¹, Feng Liu¹, Yiying Zhao¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Oasis Eco-Agriculture, College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China.
² Xinjiang Production and Construction Group Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Enhancement and Gene Resources Utilization, Cotton Research Institute, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Science, Shihezi, China.
³ College of Plant Science and Technology, Tarim University, Alar, China.

Abstract

WRKY transcription factors (TFs) play an important role in regulating the mechanism of plant self-defense. However, the function of most WRKY TFs in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is still unknown. Hence, studying the molecular mechanism of WRKY TFs in the resistance of cotton to Verticillium dahliae is of great significance to enhancing cotton disease resistance and improving its fiber quality. In this study, Bioinformatics has been used to characterize the cotton WRKY53 gene family. we analyzed the GhWRKY53 expression patterns in different resistant upland cotton cultivars treated with salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Additionally, GhWRKY53 was silenced using a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) to determine the contribution of GhWRKY53 to V. dahliae resistance in cotton. The result showed that GhWRKY53 mediated SA and MeJA signal transduction pathways. After VIGS of the GhWRKY53, the ability of cotton to resist V. dahliae decreased, indicating that the GhWRKY53 could be involved in the disease resistance mechanism of cotton. Studies on the levels of SA and jasmonic acid (JA) and their related pathway genes demonstrated that the silencing of GhWRKY53 inhibited the SA pathway and activated the JA pathway, thereby reducing the resistance of plants to V. dahliae. In conclusion, GhWRKY53 could change the tolerance of upland cotton to V. dahliae by regulating the expression of SA and JA pathway-related genes. However, the interaction mechanism between JA and SA signaling pathways in cotton in response to V. dahliae requires further study.

Keywords: GhWRKY53; Gossypium hirsutum; jasmonic acid; salicylic acid; verticillium wilt; virus virus-induced gene silencing.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by grants from the Youth Technology Leading Talents Project in the Corps (No. 2022CB002-06), International S&T Cooperation Projects of BINGTUAN (No. 2021BC001), the Key Research and Development Program of Shihezi City (No. 2021NY01), and the Science and Technology Cooperation Promotion Plan of Shihezi University (GJHZ202201).