Physical and Functional Interactions between Pathogen-Induced Arabidopsis WRKY18, WRKY40, and WRKY60 Transcription Factors

Limited information is available about the roles of specific WRKY transcription factors in plant defense. We report physical and functional interactions between structurally related and pathogen-induced WRKY18, WRKY40, and WRKY60 transcription factors in Arabidopsis thaliana. The three WRKY proteins formed both homocomplexes and heterocomplexes and DNA binding activities were significantly shifted depending on which WRKY proteins were present in these complexes. Single WRKY mutants exhibited no or small alterations in response to the hemibiotrophic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae and the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. However, wrky18 wrky40 and wrky18 wrky60 double mutants and the…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Award: 0209819
• PU
  Purdue University
• OS
  Ohio State University
• UO
  University of Missouri
• AB
  Arizona Biomedical Research Commission