Just Accepted

This article has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication. It is in production and has not been edited, so may differ from the final published form.

WRKY Transcription Factors Enhance Plant Defense Responses Against Viral Pathogens: A Review

Leila Mirzaei , Sakineh Abbasi, Mohammad Fazli

Abstract

Viral diseases, representing the most frequent emerging infectious diseases in plants globally, cause significant economic losses in agricultural production. Investigating tripartite interactions among plants, pathogens, and biological resistance inducers is essential for understanding plant immune systems. In plant-virus interactions, antiviral resistance often depends on the rapid and robust upregulation of defense responses. Several parallel molecular pathways regulate specific transcription factors (TFs), leading to gene expression changes that result in the synthesis of effector proteins and metabolites conferring resistance to viral diseases. Upon virus detection, multiple signaling cascades are activated, ultimately causing transcriptional reprogramming in plant cells. This process is modulated by various TFs, including the plant-specific WRKY family, which encodes numerous TFs involved in diverse growth and defense mechanisms. This family has been identified across multiple plant species. This review examines the role of the WRKY gene family in regulating plant defense responses against viral pathogens.

FP25093  Accepted 10 September 2025

© CSIRO 2025