A C2H2-type zinc finger protein TaZFP8-5B negatively regulates disease resistance

Abstract Background Zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) are important regulators in abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in plants. However, the role of the ZFPs in wheat responding to pathogen infection is poorly understood. Results In this study, we found TaZFP8-5B was down-regulated by Puccinia striiformi...

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Main Authors: Lin Huang, Ruijie Xie, Yanling Hu, Lilin Du, Fang Wang, Xueer Zhao, Yanyan Huang, Xuejiao Chen, Ming Hao, Qiang Xu, Lihua Feng, Bihua Wu, Zhenzhen Wei, Lianquan Zhang, Dengcai Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-11-01
Series:BMC Plant Biology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05843-6
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Summary:Abstract Background Zinc finger proteins (ZFPs) are important regulators in abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in plants. However, the role of the ZFPs in wheat responding to pathogen infection is poorly understood. Results In this study, we found TaZFP8-5B was down-regulated by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) infection. TaZFP8-5B possesses a single C2H2-type zinc finger domain with a plant-specific QALGGH motif, and an EAR motif (LxLxL) at the C-terminus. The EAR motif represses the trans-activation ability of TaZFP8-5B. Knocking down the expression of TaZFP8 by virus-induced gene silencing increased wheat resistance to Pst, whereas TaZFP8-5B-overexpressing reduced wheat resistance to stripe rust and rice resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae, suggesting that TaZFP8-5B plays a negative role in the modulation of plant immunity. Using bimolecular fluorescence complementation, split-luciferase, and yeast two-hybrid assays, we showed that TaZFP8-5B interacted with a wheat calmodulin-like protein TaCML21. Knock-down of TaCML21 reduced wheat resistance to Pst. Conclusions This study characterized the function of TaZFP8-5B and its interacting protein TaCML21. Our findings provide a new perspective on a regulatory module made up of TaCML21-TaZFP8-5B in plant immunity.
ISSN:1471-2229