biostudies-literatureLi MNational Natural Science Foundation of ChinaKey R&D Program of Shandong Provincethe National Natural Science Foundation of Chinae70225https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12904607biostudies-literatureUnknown27(2)Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is an important staple food crop worldwide, playing a fundamental role in global food security. Wheat stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), is a highly destructive disease affecting this crop. The Elongator complex is known to be a key regulator of plant responses to stress; however, little is known about the function of its subunit 2, encoded by the TaELP2 gene, in the wheat-Pst interaction. In this study, we investigated the role of TaELP2 in the susceptibility of wheat to Pst. We found that the transient silencing of TaELP2 using a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) system markedly increased wheat resistance to the pathogen, whereas its overexpression exerted the opposite effect. Subsequently, yeast two-hybrid (Y2H), luciferase compMolecular plant pathologyTaELP2 Interacts With TaDCL1 and Negatively Regulates Wheat Resistance Against Stripe Rust.PMC12904607U24 A20406322932432023LZGC00232572846Zhang ZZhang XChen YGuo SKang ZWang JLi MfalseTaELP2 Interacts With TaDCL1 and Negatively Regulates Wheat Resistance Against Stripe Rust.Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is an important staple food crop worldwide, playing a fundamental role in global food security. Wheat stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), is a highly destructive disease affecting this crop. The Elongator complex is known to be a key regulator of plant responses to stress; however, little is known about the function of its subunit 2, encoded by the TaELP2 gene, in the wheat-Pst interaction. In this study, we investigated the role of TaELP2 in the susceptibility of wheat to Pst. We found that the transient silencing of TaELP2 using a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) system markedly increased wheat resistance to the pathogen, whereas its overexpression exerted the opposite effect. Subsequently, yeast two-hybrid (Y2H), luciferase comp2026-01-01T00:00:00Z2026 Feb2026-07-15T18:01:00.067Z2026-07-08T03:08:01.536ZS-EPMC129046074168702210.1111/mpp.70225