Genome-wide identification and characterization of WRKY gene family in Hevea brasiliensis

• We identified 81 WRKY genes in the latest rubber tree genome.
• 74 HbWRKYs were expressed in at least one of the tissues.
• HbWRKY3, 14, and 55 bind HbSRPP promoter and activate the transcription in yeast.
• HbWRKY proteins maybe involved in the transcriptional regulation of natural rubber biosynthesis genes.

WRKY proteins constitute a large family of transcription factors. In this study, we identified 81 WRKY genes (named HbWRKY1 to HbWRKY81) in the latest rubber tree genome. Tissue-specific expression profiles showed that 74 HbWRKYs were expressed in at least one of the tissues and the other 7 genes showed very low expression in all tissues tested, which suggested that HbWRKYs took part in many cellular processes. The responses of 20 selected HbWRKYs to jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene (ET) were analyzed in the latex. 17 HbWRKYs responded to at least one treatment, which included 15 HbWRKYs responding to JA treatment, 15 HbWRKYs to ET, which suggested that these HbWRKYs were regulated by JA and ET. We also observed that HbWRKY3, 14, and 55 bind HbSRPP promoter and activate the transcription in yeast. This study suggests that HbWRKY proteins maybe involved in the transcriptional regulation of nature rubber biosynthesis.