WRKY24 — Triticum aestivum

Summary

TRAESCS3B02G379200, designated TaWRKY24 on bread wheat chromosome 3B, encodes a WRKY domain-containing protein with DNA-binding transcription factor activity, calmodulin binding, protein kinase activity, and transcriptional co-regulator activity. It is associated with diverse biological processes including jasmonic acid/ethylene-dependent systemic resistance, regulation of salicylic acid metabolism, abscisic acid-mediated signalling in stomatal movement, cellular thermotolerance, and male meiosis cytokinesis. The gene has been linked to agronomically important traits such as grain number, thousand grain weight, harvest index, grain protein content, spike length, tiller number, days to heading, net photosynthetic rate, leaf chlorophyll content, and responses to salt, drought, cadmium, and bacterial disease. It localises to the nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondria, and cell plate. Studies of related genes in other species connect the family to pathogen resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, and seed development.