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TaNAC35 acts as a negative regulator for leaf rust resistance in a compatible interaction between common wheat and Puccinia triticina

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Abstract

NAC (NAM, AFAT1/2, and CUC2) transcription factors play important roles in plant growth and in resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Here, we show that the TaNAC35 gene negatively regulates leaf rust resistance in the wheat line Thatcher + Lr14b (TcLr14b) when challenged with a virulent isolate of Puccinia triticina (Pt). The TaNAC35 gene was cloned from this line, and blastp results showed that its open reading frame (ORF) was 96.16% identical to the NAC35-like sequence reported from Aegilops tauschii, and that it encoded a protein with 387 amino acids (aa) including a conserved NAM domain with 145 aa at the N-terminal alongside the transcriptional activation domain with 220 aa in the C-terminal. Yeast-one-hybrid analysis proved that the C-terminal of the TaNAC35 protein was responsible for transcriptional activation. A 250-bp fragment from the 3′-end of this target gene was introduced to a BSMV-VIGS vector and used to infect the wheat line Thatcher + Lr14b (TcLr14b). The BSMV-VIGS/TaNAC35-infected plant material showed enhanced resistance (infection type “1”) to Pt pathotype THTT, which was fully virulent (infection type “4”) on BSMV-VIGS only infected TcLr14b plants. Histological studies showed that inhibition of TaNAC35 reduced the formation of haustorial mother cells (HMC) and mycelial growth, implying that the TaNAC35 gene plays a negative role in the response of TcLr14b to Pt pathotype THTT. These results provide molecular insight into the interaction between Pt and its wheat host, and identify a potential target for engineering resistance in wheat to this damaging pathogen.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by The National Key Research and Development Plan of China (2017YFD0309006, 2017YFD0201700), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31871915), and Modern Agricultural Industry System of Wheat Industry in Hebei Province (HBCT2018010204).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technological Innovation Center for Biological Control of Crop Diseases and Insect Pests of Hebei Province, Hebei Agricultural University, 289 Lingyusi Street, Baoding, 071001, Hebei, China

    Na Zhang, Shengliang Yuan, Chenguang Zhao, Wenxiang Yang, Na Zhang & Daqun Liu

  2. Plant Breeding Institute, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia

    Robert F. Park

  3. Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao, 066000, Hebei, China

    Xiaolei Wen

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  1. Na Zhang
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  2. Shengliang Yuan
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  3. Chenguang Zhao
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  4. Robert F. Park
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  5. Xiaolei Wen
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  6. Wenxiang Yang
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  7. Na Zhang
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  8. Daqun Liu
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Correspondence to Na Zhang or Daqun Liu.

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Zhang, N., Yuan, S., Zhao, C. et al. TaNAC35 acts as a negative regulator for leaf rust resistance in a compatible interaction between common wheat and Puccinia triticina. Mol Genet Genomics 296, 279–287 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-020-01746-x

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