April
2003
, Volume
16
, Number
4
Pages
295
-
305
Authors
Monika
Kalde
,
Meike
Barth
,
Imre E.
Somssich
,
and
Bernadette
Lippok
Affiliations
Max-Planck-Institut für Züchtungsforschung, Abteilung Molekulare Phytopathologie, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, D-50829 Köln, Germany
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RelatedArticle
Accepted 11 December 2002.
Abstract
WRKY proteins are a large group of transcription factors restricted to the plant kingdom. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the gene family consists of 74 members. Here, we analyzed the expression of all 13 members of one main WRKY subgroup and found that the majority are responsive both to pathogen infection and to salicylic acid. Temporal expression studies during compatible, incompatible, and nonhost interactions and employing plant defense-signaling mutants allowed us to define four distinct WRKY subsets responding to different signaling queues along defense pathways. These subsets did not reflect phylogenetic relationships. Promoter studies of one member, AtWRKY54, using a reporter gene construct in transgenic Arabidopsis plants, revealed that regulatory regions mediating pathogen and SA inducibility are clearly separable. In an AtWRKY54 knockout line, resistance to Peronospora parasitica was not compromised, but the transient expression kinetics of several WRKY genes was affected, suggesting both the existence of functional redundancy and intense cross-talk between signaling networks.
JnArticleKeywords
Additional keywords:
ascomycete Blumeria graminis,
nahG,
oomycete,
pad4,
RPP2,
RPP4.
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ArticleCopyright
© 2003 The American Phytopathological Society