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Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) WRKY33 is a key transcription factor in pathogen-induced defense signaling, but its function in abiotic stresses remains largely unclear. In this study, we report on the use of a reverse-genetic approach, as well as a yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) expression system, to determine the role of WRKY33 in drought. A T-DNA insertion deletion mutant of WRKY33 is more sensitive to dehydration. Through genome-wide screening the target genes of WRKY33 in yeast, we identified 23 candidate genes including a drought tolerance gene CesA8. Further results revealed that WRKY33 repressed CesA8 expression through binding to the W-box elements of CesA8 distal promoter region and probably interacting with the transcriptional activator of CesA8, MYB46. These findings revealed the primary molecular mechanism underlying the function of WRKY33 in response to drought
Wang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.