Unraveling the WRKY transcription factors network in Arabidopsis thaliana by integrative approach

The WRKY transcription factors superfamily are involved in diverse biological processes in plants including response to biotic and abiotic stresses and plant immunity. Protein-protein interaction network is a useful approach for understanding these complex processes. The availability of Arabidopsis Thaliana interactome offers a good opportunity to do get a global view of protein network. In this work, we have constructed the WRKY transcription factor network by combining different sources of evidence and we characterized its topological features using computational tools. We found that WRKY network is a hub-based network involving multifunctional proteins denoted as hubs such as WRKY 70, WRKY40, WRKY 53, WRKY 60, WRKY 33 and WRKY 51. Functional annotation showed seven functional modules particularly involved in biotic stress and defense responses. Furthermore, the gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis revealed that WRKY proteins are mainly involved in plant-pathogen interaction pathways and their functions are directly related to the stress response and immune system process.