A WRKY transcription factor confers broad-spectrum resistance to biotic stresses and yield stability in rice
Plants are subject to attack by diverse pests and pathogens. Few genes conferring broad-spectrum resistance to both insects and pathogens have been identified. Because of the growth-defense tradeoff, it is often challenging to balance biotic stress resistance and yield for crops. Here, we report that <i>OsWRKY36</i> suppresses the resistance to insects and pathogens via transcriptional repression of <i>Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyases</i> (<i>PALs</i>), a key enzyme in phenylpropanoid pathway in rice. Knocking out <i>OsWRKY36</i> causes elevated lignin biosynthesis and increased sclerenchyma thickness of leaf sheath, leading to enhanced resistance to multiple pests and pathogens. Additionally, loss of <i>OsWRKY36</i> also derepresses the transcription of <i>Ideal Plant Architecture 1</i> (<i>IPA1</i>) and <i>MONOCULM2</i> (<i>MOC2</i>), resulting in increased spikelet number per panicle and tiller number. These findings provide mechanistic insights into biotic stress tolerance in rice and offer a promising strategy to breed rice cultivars with broad-spectrum resistance to insects and pathogens while maintaining stable yield.
Authors
- Quanguang Sun
- Liangming Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8898-810X)
- Oliver Xiaoou Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4692-8659)
- Menglong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0843-4586)
- Pamela C. Ronald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4107-1345)
- Shijia Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3268-6097)
- Jun He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3733-0241)
- Ruyi Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9940-5918)
- Daoming Liu
- Haosen Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5234-5057)
- Mawsheng Chern (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8049-719X)
- Xi Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7239-3745)
- Jianmin Wan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0017-8760)
- Xiao Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0094-6221)
- Qi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1187-6780)
- Yongsheng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8301-4031)
- Haiyang Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1302-5747)
- Zhengguang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8253-4505)
- Yuqiang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0350-3071)
- Ling Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2093-6741)
- Yunlu Tian
- Yunlong Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6824-9505)
- Liang Fang
- Wenhui Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2263-9633)
Institutions
- Nanjing Agricultural University (CN)
- Institute of Plant Protection (CN)
- Zhongshan Hospital (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
- Plant (United States) (US)
- Institute of Crop Sciences (CN)
- Joint BioEnergy Institute (US)
- University of California, Davis (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2025-03-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2411164122
- Citations
- 37
- Primary Topic
- Plant Gene Expression Analysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 29.82
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province
- National Key Research and Development Program of China