A moso bamboo WRKY gene PeWRKY83 confers salinity tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis plants

The WRKY family are transcription factors, involved in plant development, and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Moso bamboo is an important bamboo that has high ecological, economic and cultural value and is widely distributed in the south of China. In this study, we performed a genome-wide identification of WRKY members in moso bamboo and identified 89 members. By comparative analysis in six grass genomes, we found the WRKY gene family may have experienced or be experiencing purifying selection. Based on relative expression levels among WRKY IIc members under three abiotic stresses, PeWRKY83 functioned as a transcription factor and was selected for detailed analysis. The transgenic Arabidopsis of PeWRKY83 showed superior physiological properties compared with the WT under salt stress. Overexpression plants were less sensitive to ABA at both germination and postgermination stages and accumulated more endogenous ABA under salt stress conditions. Further studies demonstrated that overexpression of PeWRKY83 could regulate the expression of some ABA biosynthesis genes (AtAAO3, AtNCED2, AtNCED3), signaling genes (AtABI1, AtPP2CA) and responsive genes (AtRD29A, AtRD29B, AtABF1) under salt stress. Together, these results suggested that PeWRKY83 functions as a novel WRKY-related TF which plays a positive role in salt tolerance by regulating stress-induced ABA synthesis.