OsWRKY114 Is a Player in Rice Immunity against .

Every year, invasive pathogens cause significant damage to crops. Thus, identifying genes conferring broad-spectrum resistance to invading pathogens is critical for plant breeding. We previously demonstrated that OsWRKY114 contributes to rice ( L.) immunity against the bacterial pathovar pv. (). However, it is not known whether OsWRKY114 is involved in defense responses to other pathogens. In this study, we revealed that OsWRKY114 enhances innate immunity in rice against the fungal pathogen , which is the causal agent of bakanae disease. Transcript levels of various gibberellin-related genes that are required for plant susceptibility to were reduced in rice plants overexpressing . Analysis of disease symptoms revealed increased innate immunity against in -overexpressing rice plants. Moreover, the expression levels of genes, which encode negative regulators of jasmonic acid signaling that confer immunity against , were reduced in -overexpressing rice plants. These results indicate that OsWRKY114 confers broad-spectrum resistance not only to but also to . Our findings provide a basis for developing strategies to mitigate pathogen attack and improve crop resilience to biotic stress.