The transcription factor WRKY is widely distributed in the plant kingdom, playing a significant role in plant growth, development and response to stresses. Walnut is an economically important temperate tree species valued for both its edible nuts and high-quality wood, and its response to various stresses is an important factor that determines the quality of its fruit. However, in walnut trees themselves, information about the WRKY gene family remains scarce. In this paper, we perform a comprehensive study of the WRKY gene family in walnut. In total, we identified 103 WRKY genes in the common walnut that are clustered into 4 groups and distributed on 14 chromosomes. The conserved domains all contained a WRKY domain, and motif 2 was observed in most WRKYs, suggesting a high degree of conservation and similar functions within each subfamily. However, gene structure was significantly differentiated between different subfamilies. Synteny analysis indicates that there were 56 gene pairs in J. regia and A. thaliana, 76 in J. regia and J. mandshurica, 75 in J. regia and J. microcarpa, 76 in J. regia and P. trichocarpa, and 33 in J. regia and Q. robur, indicating that the WRKY gene family may come from a common ancestor. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the WRKY gene family was involved in resistance traits and the plant-pathogen interaction pathway. In anthracnose-resistant F26 fruits (AR) and anthracnose-susceptible F423 fruits (AS), transcriptome and qPCR analysis results showed that JrWRKY83, JrWRKY73 and JrWRKY74 were expressed significantly more highly in resistant cultivars, indicating that these three genes may be important contributors to stress resistance in walnut trees. Furthermore, we investigate how these three genes potentially target miRNAs and interact with proteins. JrWRKY73 was target by the miR156 family, including 12 miRNAs; this miRNA family targets WRKY genes to enhance plant defense. JrWRKY73 also interacted with the resistance gene AtMPK6, showing that it may play a crucial role in walnut defense.

中文翻译：

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普通核桃 (Juglans regia L.) 转录因子 WRKY 的全基因组鉴定和转录表达谱

转录因子WRKY广泛分布于植物界，在植物生长发育和胁迫响应中发挥着重要作用。核桃是一种经济重要的温带树种，既可食用，又可作为优质木材，对各种胁迫的反应是决定其果实品质的重要因素。然而，在核桃树本身中，关于WRKY基因家族的信息仍然很少。在本文中，我们对核桃中的WRKY基因家族进行了全面研究。我们总共确定了 103 个WRKY普通核桃中的基因聚集成 4 组，分布在 14 条染色体上。保守结构域都包含一个WRKY结构域，并且在大多数WRKY中观察到motif 2 ，表明每个亚科内具有高度的保守性和相似的功能。然而，基因结构在不同亚科之间存在显着差异。同线性分析表明，在J. regia和A. thaliana中有56对基因对，在J. regia和J. mandshurica中有76对，在J. regia和J. microcarpa中有75对，在J. regia和P. trichocarpa中有76对，33对在J. regia和Q. robur，表明WRKY基因家族可能来自一个共同的祖先。GO和KEGG富集分析表明，WRKY基因家族参与抗性性状和植物-病原互作途径。在炭疽病抗性 F26 果实 (AR) 和炭疽病易感 F423 果实 (AS) 中，转录组和 qPCR 分析结果显示JrWRKY83、JrWRKY73和JrWRKY74在抗性品种中的表达明显更高，表明这三个基因可能是核桃树的抗逆性。此外，我们研究了这三个基因如何潜在地靶向 miRNA 并与蛋白质相互作用。JRWRKY73被 miR156 家族靶向，包括 12 个 miRNA；这个 miRNA 家族靶向WRKY基因以增强植物防御。JrWRKY73还与抗性基因AtMPK6相互作用，表明它可能在核桃防御中发挥关键作用。