CaWRKY6-CaERF3 regulate ROS homeostasis to positively modulate salt stress in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

CaWRKY6-CaERF3 regulate ROS homeostasis to positively modulate salt stress in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article CaWRKY6-CaERF3 regulate ROS homeostasis to positively modulate salt stress in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Zhimin Li, Huibin Han, Hui Li, Zhen An, Yue Wang, Yufang Wen, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7821781/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Plant Cell Reports → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Salt stress significantly inhibits the growth and productivity of plants. Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), a widely cultivated economic horticultural crop, exhibits high sensitivity to salinity. This study investigates the role of the transcription factor CaWRKY6 in modulating pepper's responses to salt stress. Our findings indicate that CaWRKY6 predominantly localizes at the cell nucleus, and its expression is significantly induced upon salt treatment. The CaWRKY6-silenced pepper plants exhibit heightened sensitivity to salt stress, as evidenced by increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and decreased proline content. Additionally, CaWRKY6-silenced pepper plants show elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Through a yeast two-hybrid screen, CaERF3 is identified as an interactor of CaWRKY6. Silencing CaERF3 expression induces a similar sensitive salt response and elevated ROS levels as observed in CaWRKY6-silenced plants. Collectively, our results demonstrate that the CaWRKY6-CaERF3 module positively regulates salt stress responses in pepper by modulating ROS homeostasis. Capsicum annuum L. salt stress CaWRKY6 CaERF3 ROS Full Text Supplementary Files CaWRKY6Supplementaryfigures20250929.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Plant Cell Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Minor revisions 25 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 29 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 12 Oct, 2025 First submitted to journal 11 Oct, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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