Microarray analysis of Arabidopsis WRKY33 mutants in response to the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea

The WRKY33 transcription factor was reported for resistance to the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea. Using microarray-based analysis, we compared Arabidopsis WRKY33 overexpressing lines and wrky33 mutant that showed altered susceptibility to B. cinerea with their corresponding wild-type plants. In the wild-type, about 1660 genes (7% of the transcriptome) were induced and 1054 genes (5% of the transcriptome) were repressed at least twofold at early stages of inoculation with B. cinerea, confirming previous data of the contribution of these genes in B. cinerea resistance. In Arabidopsis wild-type plant infected with B. cinerea, the expressions of the differentially expressed genes encoding for proteins and metabolites involved in pathogen defense and non-defense responses, seem to be dependent on a functional WRKY33 gene. The expression profile of 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid- and phytoprostane A1-treated Arabidopsis plants in response to B. cinerea revealed that cyclopentenones can also modulate WRKY33 regulation upon inoculation with B. cinerea. These results support the role of electrophilic oxylipins in mediating plant responses to B. cinerea infection through the TGA transcription factor. Future directions toward the identification of the molecular components in cyclopentenone signaling will elucidate the novel oxylipin signal transduction pathways in plant defense.