Functional Analysis of Wheat NAC Transcription Factor, TaNAC069, in Regulating Resistance of Wheat to Leaf Rust Fungus

Abstract

NAC transcription factors are one of the largest transcription factor families having functions in a variety of stress responses. Few NACs have been reported for interactions between wheat and the wheat rust fungus <i>Puccinia triticina</i> (<i>Pt</i>). In this study, based on analysis of RNA-seq data from wheat line TcLr19 inoculated by <i>Pt</i>, the NAC transcription factor <i>TaNAC069</i> was cloned from wheat, and its transcriptional activity and homologous dimer formation were verified. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that the expression of <i>TaNAC069</i> was induced by <i>Pt</i> and associated signaling molecules. To further characterize the function of the <i>TaNAC069</i> gene in wheat resistance to <i>Pt</i>, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) was utilized, and it revealed that <i>Pt</i> resistance in <i>TaNAC069</i>-silenced plants was significantly reduced. Potential interaction targets of TaNAC069 from wheat and <i>Pt</i> were screened and identified by yeast two-hybrid technology. Eukaryotic elongation factor <i>eEF1A</i>, CBSX3 protein, and cold acclimation protein WCOR410c were screened by yeast one-hybrid technology. The results indicate that the <i>TaNAC069</i> gene plays a positive regulatory role in wheat resistance to <i>Pt</i>, laying a good foundation to analyze the molecular mechanisms of <i>TaNAC069</i> and its functional role in wheat resistance to <i>Pt</i>.