FaWRKY7 modulates jasmonate signaling responses and enhances strawberry fruit resistance to Botrytis cinerea

WRKY transcription factors and jasmonic acid (JA) signaling are essential for plant responses to stress, but their roles in strawberry resistance to Botrytis cinerea remain unclear. Here, we investigated the function of FaWRKY7 in strawberry fruit and transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. FaWRKY7 expression was significantly induced at 72 h after B. cinerea inoculation. Transient overexpression of FaWRKY7 enhanced strawberry fruit resistance to B. cinerea, whereas silencing increased susceptibility. Similarly, FaWRKY7-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants showed enhanced resistance to B. cinerea and greater responsiveness to exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA), although basal levels of free JA, JA-Ile, and OPDA were not detectably altered in non-inoculated samples. Pharmacological assays further showed that FaWRKY7-mediated resistance was maintained under MeJA treatment and only partially reduced by Jarin-1, an inhibitor of JA-Ile formation, indicating that this effect is only partially dependent on JA-Ile formation. Mechanistically, DAP-seq, yeast one-hybrid, EMSA, and dual-luciferase assays showed that FaWRKY7 directly binds to the promoters of FaJAZ4 and FaJAZ8 and represses their transcription. These findings indicate that FaWRKY7 enhances resistance to B. cinerea, at least in part by directly repressing FaJAZ4 and FaJAZ8 and thereby modulating jasmonate signaling responses.