Differential expression of four soybean bZIP genes during Phakopsora pachyrhizi infection

• Published in: Functional & integrative genomics 2015-11, Vol.15 (6), p.685-696
• Main Authors: Alves, Murilo S., Soares, Zamira G., Vidigal, Pedro M. P., Barros, Everaldo G., Poddanosqui, Adriana M. P., Aoyagi, Luciano N., Abdelnoor, Ricardo V., Marcelino-Guimarães, Francismar C., Fietto, Luciano G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abiotic stress; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Biochemistry; Bioinformatics; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Biology; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genomics; Glycine max; Glycine max - genetics; Glycine max - metabolism; Glycine max - microbiology; Life Sciences; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Original Paper; Phakopsora pachyrhizi; Phakopsora pachyrhizi - pathogenicity; Plant diseases; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Proteins - chemistry; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Soybeans; Stress response; Transcription Factors - chemistry; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Zinc Fingers
• ISSN: 1438-793X; 1438-7948
• DOI: 10.1007/s10142-015-0445-0

Asian soybean rust (ASR), caused by the obligate biotrophic fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi, is one of most important diseases in the soybean ( Glycine max (L.) Merr.) agribusiness. The identification and characterization of genes related to plant defense responses to fungal infection are essential to develop ASR-resistant plants. In this work, we describe four soybean genes, GmbZIP62 , GmbZIP105 , GmbZIPE1 , and GmbZIPE2 , which encode transcription factors containing a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) domain from two divergent classes, and that are responsive to P. pachyrhizi infection. Molecular phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that these genes encode proteins similar to bZIP factors responsive to pathogens. Yeast transactivation assays showed that only GmbZIP62 has strong transactivation activity in yeast. In addition, three of the bZIP transcription factors analyzed were also differentially expressed by plant defense hormones, and all were differentially expressed by fungal attack, indicating that these proteins might participate in response to ASR infection. The results suggested that these bZIP proteins are part of the plant defense response to P. pachyrhizi infection, by regulating the gene expression related to ASR infection responses. These bZIP genes are potential targets to obtain new soybean genotypes resistant to ASR.