Overexpression of OsMYC2 Results in the Up-Regulation of Early JA-Rresponsive Genes and Bacterial Blight Resistance in Rice.

JASMONATE ZIM-domain (JAZ) proteins act as transcriptional repressors of jasmonic acid (JA) responses and play a crucial role in the regulation of host immunity in plants. Here, we report that OsMYC2, a JAZ-interacting transcription factor in rice (Oryza sativa L.), plays an important role in the resistance response against rice bacterial blight, which is one of the most serious diseases in rice, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). The results showed that OsMYC2 interacted with some OsJAZ proteins in a JAZ-interacting domain (JID)-dependent manner. The up-regulation of OsMYC2 in response to JA was regulated by OsJAZ8. Transgenic rice plants overexpressing OsMYC2 exhibited a JA-hypersensitive phenotype and were more resistant to Xoo. A large-scale microarray analysis revealed that OsMYC2 up-regulated OsJAZ10 as well as many other defense-related genes. OsMYC2 selectively bound to the G-box-like motif of the OsJAZ10 promoter in vivo and regulated the expression of early JA-responsive genes, but not of late JA-responsive genes. The nuclear localization of OsMYC2 depended on a nuclear localization signal within JID. Overall, we conclude that OsMYC2 acts as a positive regulator of early JA signals in the JA-induced resistance against Xoo in rice.