Characterization of a novel wheat NAC transcription factor gene involved in defense response against stripe rust pathogen infection and abiotic stresses

Proteins encoded by the NAC gene family constitute one of the largest plant-specific transcription factors, which have been identified to play many important roles in both abiotic and biotic stress adaptation, as well as in plant development regulation. In the current paper, a full-length cDNA sequence of a novel wheat NAC gene, designated as TaNAC4, was isolated using in silico cloning and the reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) methods. TaNAC4 sharing high homology with rice OsNAC4 gene was predicted to encode a protein of 308 amino acid residues, which contained a plant-specific NAC domain in the N-terminus. Transient expression analysis indicated that the deduced TaNAC4 protein was localized in the nucleus of onion epidemical cells. Yeast one-hybrid assay revealed that the C-terminal region of the TaNAC4 protein had transcriptional activity. The expression of TaNAC4 was largely higher in the wheat seedling roots, than that in leaves and stems. TaNAC4 transcript in wheat leaves was induced by the infection of strip rust pathogen, and also by exogenous applied methyl jasmonate (MeJA), ABA and ethylene. However, salicylic acid (SA) had no obvious effect on TaNAC4 expression. Environmental stimuli, including high salinity, wounding, and low-temperature also induced TaNAC4 expression. These results indicate that this novel TaNAC4 gene functions as a transcriptional activator involved in wheat response to biotic and abiotic stresses.