Prioritizing plant defence over growth through WRKY regulation facilitates infestation by non-target herbivores

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Abstract

Plants generally respond to herbivore attack by increasing resistance and decreasing growth. This prioritization is achieved through the regulation of phytohormonal signalling networks. However, it remains unknown how this prioritization affects resistance against non-target herbivores. Here, we identify WRKY70 as a specific herbivore-induced, MAPK-regulated rice transcription factor that physically interacts with W-box motives and prioritizes defence over growth by positively regulating jasmonic acid (JA) and negatively regulating gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis upon attack by the chewing herbivore Chilo suppressalis. WRKY70-dependent JA biosynthesis is required for proteinase inhibitor (PI) activation and resistance against C. suppressalis. In contrast, WRKY70 induction increases plant susceptibility against the rice brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens. Experiments with GA-deficient rice lines identify WRKY70-dependent GA signalling as the causal factor in N. lugens susceptibility. Our study shows that prioritizing defence over growth leads to a significant resistance trade-off with important implications for the evolution and agricultural exploitation of plant immunity.

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Ran Li

State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Jin Zhang

State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Jiancai Li

State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Guoxin Zhou

State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Qi Wang

State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Wenbo Bian

State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Matthias Erb

Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Yonggen Lou

State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

For correspondence
yglou@zju.edu.cn

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

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