Wang Liuqiang, Zheng Lei, Zhang Chunrui, Wang Yucheng, Lu Mengzhu, Gao Caiqiu
State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation of the State Forestry Administration, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China.
State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding (Northeast Forestry University), 26 Hexing Road, Harbin 150040, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2015 Nov 13;16(11):27097-106. doi: 10.3390/ijms161126009.
WRKY proteins are a large family of transcription factors that are involved in diverse developmental processes and abiotic stress responses in plants. However, our knowledge of the regulatory mechanisms of WRKYs participation in protein-protein interactions is still fragmentary, and such protein-protein interactions are fundamental in understanding biological networks and the functions of proteins. In this study, we report that a WRKY protein from Tamarix hispida, ThWRKY4, can form both homodimers and heterodimers with ThWRKY2 and ThWRKY3. In addition, ThWRKY2 and ThWRKY3 can both bind to W-box motif with binding affinities similar to that of ThWRKY4. Further, the expression patterns of ThWRKY2 and ThWRKY3 are similar to that of ThWRKY4 when plants are exposed to abscisic acid (ABA). Subcellular localization shows that these three ThWRKY proteins are nuclear proteins. Taken together, these results demonstrate that ThWRKY4 is a dimeric protein that can form functional homodimers or heterodimers that are involved in abiotic stress responses.
WRKY蛋白是一类庞大的转录因子家族，参与植物的多种发育过程和非生物胁迫反应。然而，我们对WRKY蛋白参与蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用的调控机制的了解仍然支离破碎，而这种蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用对于理解生物网络和蛋白质功能至关重要。在本研究中，我们报道了来自刚毛柽柳的一个WRKY蛋白ThWRKY4，它可以与ThWRKY2和ThWRKY3形成同二聚体和异二聚体。此外，ThWRKY2和ThWRKY3都能与W-box基序结合，结合亲和力与ThWRKY4相似。此外，当植物暴露于脱落酸（ABA）时，ThWRKY2和ThWRKY3的表达模式与ThWRKY4相似。亚细胞定位表明这三种ThWRKY蛋白都是核蛋白。综上所述，这些结果表明ThWRKY4是一种二聚体蛋白，它可以形成参与非生物胁迫反应的功能性同二聚体或异二聚体。
