A LlWRKY33-LlHSFA4-LlCAT2 module confers resistance to Botrytis cinerea in lily

Abstract

Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is one of the major threats in lily production. However, limited information is available about the underlying defense mechanism against B. cinerea in lily. Here, we characterized a nuclear-localized class A heat stress transcription factor (HSF)-LlHSFA4 from lily (Lilium longiflorum), which positively regulated the response to B. cinerea infection. LlHSFA4 transcript and its promoter activity were increased by B. cinerea infection in lily, indicating its involvement in the response to B. cinerea. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of LlHSFA4 impaired the resistance of lily to B. cinerea. Consistent with its role in lily, overexpression of LlHSFA4 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) enhanced the resistance of transgenic Arabidopsis to B. cinerea infection. Further analysis showed that LlWRKY33 directly activated LlHSFA4 expression. We also found that both LlHSFA4 and LlWRKY33 positively regulated plant response to B. cinerea through reducing cell death and H₂O₂ accumulation and activating the expression of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging enzyme gene LlCAT2 (Catalase 2) by binding its prompter, which might contribute to reducing H₂O₂ accumulation in the infected area. Taken together, our data suggested that there may be a LlWRKY33-LlHSFA4-LlCAT2 regulatory module which confers B. cinerea resistance via reducing cell death and the ROS accumulation.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFD2300900), the Project for Crop Germplasm Resources Conservation of Jiangsu (2021-SJ-011), and the Modern Agricultural Industry Technology System in Jiangsu [JATS (2023) 007].

Author contributions

N.T. and Z.W. designed the research; L.D. and Z.W. conducted the experiments and data processing under the supervision of N.T.; L.D. wrote the manuscript; J.X. S.X., Y.Z., and D.Z. provided technological assistance; X.C. isolated and provided strains of Botrytis cinerea. All authors read and revised the article.

Data availability

The data and figures in this study can be found within the article and its supporting materials.

Conflict of interest statement

All authors state that they have no conflict of interest in relation to this research.

Supplementary data

Supplementary data is available at Horticulture Research online.

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