Poster Presentation International Plant Molecular Biology Conference 2024

Identification of pepper transcription factor promoters responsive to a resistance-breaking variant of tomato spotted wilt virus (#71)

Yubin Lee 1 , Ji-Soo Choi 1 , Young-Eun Cho 2 , Sun-Jung Kwon 2 , Jang-Kyun Seo 1 2
  1. Department of International Agricultural Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang, Gangwon, Republic of Korea
  2. Institutes of Green Bio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang, Gangwon, Republic of Korea

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is one of the most devastating plant viruses responsible for significant crop losses, particularly in global pepper production. While the single dominant gene Tsw has been utilized in pepper breeding to confer resistance to TSWV, reports from various countries indicate the emergence of TSWV variants capable of overcoming Tsw-mediated resistance. In this study, we aimed to develop a molecular strategy to confer resistance to resistance-breaking TSWV variants utilizing TSWV-inducible promoters. Based on transcriptome analysis, we identified 106 significantly up-regulated transcription factor genes upon TSWV infection. Among these genes, we examined overexpression phenotypes of the two most highly up-regulated transcription factor genes, CaERF119 and CaWRKY40, in Nicotiana benthamiana using a viral gene expression vector. Although the expression level of either CaERF119 or CaWRKY40 was highly elevated in the systemic leaves, no significant phenotypic alterations were observed in the leaves. Subsequently, we generated GUS reporter constructs utilizing the promoters of CaERF119 and CaWRKY40 to examine whether these promoters function specifically in response to TSWV. Based on our approach, we identified novel TSWV-inducible promoters. These promoters can be utilized to induce acute disease responses, such as hypersensitive response (HR), that confer durable and specific resistance to TSWV. Our study provides new insights into the molecular approaches for enhancing plant immunity against plant viruses.