The transcription factors WRKY11 and WRKY17 act as negative regulators of basal resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Transcription factors are believed to play a pivotal role in the activation and fine-tuning of plant defense responses, but little is known about the exact function of individual transcription factors in this process. We analyzed the role of the IId subfamily of WRKY transcription factors in the regulation of basal resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato (Pst). The expression of four members of the subfamily was induced upon challenge with virulent and avirulent strains of Pst. Mutant analyses revealed that loss of WRKY11 function increased resistance toward avirulent and virulent Pst strains and that resistance was further enhanced in wrky11 wrky17 double mutant plants. Thus, WRKY11 and WRKY17 act as negative regulators of basal resistance to Pst. Genome-wide expression analysis and expression studies of selected genes in single and double mutants demonstrated that both transcription factors modulate transcriptional changes in response to pathogen challenge. Depending on the target gene, WRKY11 and WRKY17 act either specifically or in a partially redundant manner. We demonstrate complex cross-regulation within the IId WRKY subfamily and provide evidence that both WRKY transcription factors are involved in the regulation of Pst-induced jasmonic acid-dependent responses. These results provide genetic evidence for the importance of WRKY11 and WRKY17 in plant defense.