辣椒CaWRKY14转录因子的生物学特性研究

WRKY转录因子是植物响应病原菌胁迫最重要的转录因子之一,且参与抗病反应及信号传导通路的调控。为研究辣椒WRKY基因的生物学特征,以辣椒高抗疫病材料CM334为试材,克隆获得响应疫霉菌诱导的转录因子CaWRKY14。生物信息学分析表明,该基因DNA全长2 530 bp,cDNA全长1 662 bp,含有5个内含子,编码553个氨基酸,含有1个WRKY保守结构域,属于Group Ⅱ(b)。实时荧光定量表达分析表明,CaWRKY14不仅受ABA和疫霉菌胁迫诱导表达,且表达量分别在12 h和24 h时达到峰值,分别是对照的8.54和8.04倍,同时也受高盐、热激和干旱胁迫诱导。利用VIGS技术对CaWRKY14转录因子进行沉默后发现,抗病材料CM334接种疫霉菌后趋于发病。研究表明,CaWRKY14基因在辣椒响应疫霉菌胁迫进程中可能发挥着重要作用。     

Overexpression of cotton GhMKK4 enhances disease susceptibility and affects abscisic acid,gibberellin and hydrogen peroxide signalling in transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana

Mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are involved in plant development, stress responses and hormonal signal transduction. MAPK kinases (MAPKKs), as the key nodes in these cascades, link MAPKs and MAPKK kinases (MAPKKKs). In this study, GhMKK4, a novel group C MAPKK gene from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), was isolated and identified. Its expression can be induced by various stresses and signalling molecules. The overexpression of GhMKK4 in Nicotiana benthamiana enhanced its susceptibility to bacterial and fungal pathogens, but had no significant effects on salt or drought tolerance. Notably, the overexpressing plants showed increased sensitivity to abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin A3 (GA3), and ABA and gibberellin (GA) signalling were affected on infection with Ralstonia solanacearum bacteria. Furthermore, the overexpressing plants showed more reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and stronger inhibition of catalase (CAT), a ROS‐scavenging enzyme, than control plants after salicylic acid (SA) treatment. Interestingly, two genes encoding ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and S‐adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC), the key enzymes in polyamine synthesis, exhibited reduced R. solanacearum‐induced expression in overexpressing plants. These findings broaden our knowledge about the functions of MAPKKs in diverse signalling pathways and the negative regulation of disease resistance in the cotton crop.