OsWRKY114 Negatively Regulates Drought Tolerance by Restricting Stomatal Closure in Rice.

ABSTRACT: The WRKY family of transcription factors plays a pivotal role in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress. The WRKY Group III transcription factor OsWRKY114 is a positive regulator of innate immunity against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae; however, its role in abiotic stress responses is largely unknown. In this study, we showed that the abundant OsWRKY114 transcripts present in transgenic rice plants are reduced under drought conditions. The overexpression of OsWRKY114 significantly increased drought sensitivity in rice, which resulted in a lower survival rate after drought stress. Moreover, we showed that stomatal closure, which is a strategy to save water under drought, is restricted in OsWRKY114-overexpressing plants compared with wild-type plants.

SUBMITTER: Song G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9331222 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature