Overexpression of BnaA10.WRKY75 Decreases Cadmium and Salt Tolerance via Increasing ROS Accumulation in Arabidopsis and Brassica napus L.

Abstract

Soil is indispensable for agricultural production but has been seriously polluted by cadmium and salt in recent years. Many crops are suffering from this, including rapeseed, the third largest global oilseed crop. However, genes simultaneously related to both cadmium and salt stress have not been extensively reported yet. In this study, <i>BnaA10.WRKY75</i> was screened from previous RNA-seq data related to cadmium and salt stress and further analyses including sequence comparison, GUS staining, transformation and qRT-PCR were conducted to confirm its function. GUS staining and qRT-PCR results indicated <i>BnaA10.WRKY75</i> was induced by CdCl₂ and NaCl treatment. Sequence analysis suggested BnaA10.WRKY75 belongs to Group IIc of the WRKY gene family and transient expression assay showed it was a nuclear localized transcription factor. <i>BnaA10.WRKY75</i>-overexpressing <i>Arabidopsis</i> and rapeseed plants accumulated more H₂O₂ and O₂^- and were more sensitive to CdCl₂ and NaCl treatment compared with untransformed plants, which may be caused by the downregulation of <i>BnaC03.CAT2</i>. Our study reported that <i>BnaA10.WRKY75</i> increases sensitivity to cadmium and salt stress by disrupting the balance of reactive oxygen species both in <i>Arabidopsis</i> and rapeseed. The results support the further understanding of the mechanisms underlying cadmium and salt tolerance and provide <i>BnaA10.WRKY75</i> as a valuable gene for rapeseed abiotic stress breeding.