WRKY Transcription Factors in Rice: Key Regulators Orchestrating Development and Stress Resilience

Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) productivity is critical for global food security, but it is increasingly vulnerable to environmental fluctuation and emerging pathogens and insects. WRKY is one of the largest plant transcription factors families, governing plant growth and stress adaptation as versatile regulators. However, a comprehensive review on rice WRKYs, especially incorporating recent findings, is still lacking. Here, we integrate current advances in the multifaceted roles of OsWRKYs, including regulating seed germination, vegetative growth, reproduction, and leaf senescence, as well as coordinating adaptive responses to various abiotic stresses (temperature, drought, salinity, heavy metals, nutrient imbalance) and biotic challenges (pathogens and insect herbivory). We detail how OsWRKY transcriptionally modulates target genes by binding to W-box elements involved in signaling of phytohormones (abscisic acid, gibberellin, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene), reactive oxygen species homeostasis, and defense responses, thereby fine-tuning the trade-off between growth and defense. Additionally, we propose future research directions on how OsWRKYs prioritize responses under combined stresses and how their activity is regulated across multiple levels. The insights into these regulatory mechanisms lay a foundation for rational genetic engineering and genome editing of OsWRKYs to facilitate the development of rice varieties with enhanced yield and stress resilience.