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The maize WRKY transcription factor ZmWRKY64 confers cadmium tolerance in Arabidopsis and maize (Zea mays L.)

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Abstract

Key message

ZmWRKY64 positively regulates Arabidopsis and maize Cd stress through modulating Cd uptake, translocation, and ROS scavenging genes expression.

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic heavy metal with severe impacts on crops growth and development. The WRKY transcription factor is a significant regulator influencing plant stress response. Nevertheless, the function of the WRKY protein in maize Cd stress response remains unclear. Here, we identified a maize WRKY gene, ZmWRKY64, the expression of which was enhanced in maize roots and leaves under Cd stress. ZmWRKY64 was localized in the nucleus and displayed transcriptional activity in yeast. Heterologous expression of ZmWRKY64 in Arabidopsis diminished Cd accumulation in plants by negatively regulating the expression of AtIRT1, AtZIP1, AtHMA2, AtNRAMP3, and AtNRAMP4, which are involved in Cd uptake and transport, resulting in Cd stress tolerance. Knockdown of ZmWRKY64 in maize led to excessive Cd accumulation in leaf cells and in the cytosol of the root cells, resulting in a Cd hypersensitive phenotype. Further analysis confirmed that ZmWRKY64 positively regulated ZmABCC4, ZmHMA3, ZmNRAMP5, ZmPIN2, ZmABCG51, ZmABCB13/32, and ZmABCB10, which may influence Cd translocation and auxin transport, thus mitigating Cd toxicity in maize. Moreover, ZmWRKY64 could directly enhance the transcription of ZmSRG7, a reported key gene regulating reactive oxygen species homeostasis under abiotic stress. Our results indicate that ZmWRKY64 is important in maize Cd stress response. This work provides new insights into the WRKY transcription factor regulatory mechanism under a Cd-polluted environment and may lead to the genetic improvement of Cd tolerance in maize.

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Data availability

The raw sequence data generated by this research have been deposited in the National Center for Biotechnology Information under the accession number PRJNA936919 for RNA sequencing.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Professor Chen Yan-Hui of the College of Agronomy at Henan Agricultural University for constructing the maize mutant library. Additionally, we extend our gratitude to the Major Platform Center at the Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, for providing the maize mutants.

Funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 32160434), the Guizhou Provincial Key Technology R&D Program (grant number Qian Kehe Support [2022]key026), the Guizhou Provincial Basic Research Program (Natural Science) (grant number QKHJCZK [2022] YB305), and the Guizhou Normal University Academic Emerging Talent Fund Program (Grant number QSXM [2022] 14).

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  1. Lei Gu, Yunyan Hou have contributed equally to this work.

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  1. School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Lei Gu, Yunyan Hou, Yiyue Sun, Xuanxuan Chen, Guangyi Wang, Hongcheng Wang, Bin Zhu & Xuye Du

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  1. Lei Gu
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Contributions

LG and XYD conceived research plans and designed experiments. LG, XXC, GYW, YYS and YYH conducted experiments. LG, YYH and YYS wrote the draft. HCW and BZ analyzed the data. LG, YYH and XYD reviewed and edited this article. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Correspondence to Xuye Du.

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Gu, L., Hou, Y., Sun, Y. et al. The maize WRKY transcription factor ZmWRKY64 confers cadmium tolerance in Arabidopsis and maize (Zea mays L.). Plant Cell Rep 43, 44 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-023-03112-8

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