# A WRKY Transcription Factor, ZmWRKY82, Conferred Enhanced Drought Stress Tolerance in Maize

## TL;DR

This study identifies a maize WRKY transcription factor, ZmWRKY82, that improves drought tolerance, offering potential for crop improvement in agriculture.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is the functional characterization of ZmWRKY82 in enhancing drought stress tolerance in maize.

## Key findings

- ZmWRKY82 is induced by drought-related stressors and localized in the nucleus with transcriptional activation capability.
- Overexpression of ZmWRKY82 in Arabidopsis and maize increases drought resilience through enhanced antioxidant activity.
- ZmWRKY82 influences the transcription of drought-related genes, contributing to improved stress tolerance.

## Abstract

Members of the WRKY transcription factors (TFs) family play crucial roles in biotic and abiotic stress responses in plants, but their roles in response to drought stress in maize (Zea mays L.) have not been fully elucidated. Maize ZmWRKY82, a group IIc WRKY gene, was isolated from maize using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Using the UniProt online database, we found that ZmWRKY82 encodes a 222-amino protein with conserved WRKYGKK and C-X4-C-X23-H-X1-H motifs. ZmWRKY82 is strongly induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG), abscisic acid (ABA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), salicylic acid (SA), and ethephon (ETH) treatments. The ZmWRKY82 protein was located in the cell nucleus. ZmWRKY82 had transcriptional activation capability and was able to bind to the W-box element. ZmWRKY82-overexpressing Arabidopsis and maize exhibited stronger drought resilience, which was associated with enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity and altered transcription level of drought-related genes. These findings suggest that ZmWRKY82 plays a central role in conferring drought tolerance in maize and may contribute to crop improvement and sustainable agricultural practices.