Molecular characterization and functional analysis of plant <i>WRKY</i> genes

Abstract

WRKY genes are widely distributed in higher plants, and constitute one of the largest transcription factor families. Over recent decades, molecular characterization and functional analysis of WRKY have been extensively studied and reported to be involved in many physiological and biochemical processes. This review describes the current knowledge about their molecular, structural and functional characteristics, including the alternative splicing, the response to biotic and abiotic stress, the senescence, the morphological architecture and the evolution. It shows that WRKY transcription factors play a crucial role in plants’ developmental and physiological processes. Furthermore, the group-I WRKY genes may represent the ancestral form and the WRKY genes not only limited in the plant kingdom.

Keywords: WRKY, structure characteristic, biotic and abiotic stress, senescence, development, evolution