Transcription Factors Associated With -Mediated Acquired Resistance in Barley Are Potential Resources to Improve Wheat Resistance to .

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in is established beyond the initial pathogenic infection or is directly induced by treatment with salicylic acid or its functional analogs (SA/INA/BTH). NPR1 protein and WRKY transcription factors are considered the master regulators of SAR. Our previous study showed that homologs in wheat ( L.) and barley ( L.) regulated the expression of genes encoding pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins during acquired resistance (AR) triggered by pv. DC3000. In the present examination, AR induced by DC3000 was also found to effectively improve wheat resistance to (). However, with more complex genomes, genes associated with this SAR-like response in wheat and barley are largely unknown and no specific has been reported to be involved in this biological process. In our subsequent analysis, barley transgenic line overexpressing wheat (wNPR1-OE) showed enhanced resistance to isolate Guy11, whereas AR to Guy11 was suppressed in a barley transgenic line with knocked-down barley (HvNPR1-Kd). We performed RNA-seq to reveal the genes that were differentially expressed among these transgenic lines and the wild-type barley plants during the AR. Several and BTH-induced () genes were designated as downstream genes of . The expression of few was significantly associated with expression during the AR events. The transient expression of three genes, including , , and , in wheat leaves by -mediated infiltration enhanced the resistance to . In conclusion, a profile of genes associated with -mediated AR in barley was drafted and discovered in the current study showed a substantial potential for improving wheat resistance to .