Tobacco TGA7 mediates gene expression dependent and independent of salicylic acid

ABSTRACT Basic region leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors of the TGA family control gene expression in response to diverse stimuli. Arabidopsis clade II and clade III TGA factors mediate salicylic acid (SA)-induced expression of PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENE1 ( PR-1 ) via interplay with NONEXPRESSOR OF PR GENES1 (NPR1, a.k.a. NIM1). Interaction with TGA factors occurs through the central ankyrin repeat domain of NPR1. In a yeast two-hybrid screen with the NPR1 bait, we identified TGA7, a novel member of the tobacco (Nt) TGA family grouping to clade III. TGA7 is most similar to NtTGA1a, and, like NtTGA1a, TGA7 displays transcription activity in yeast. Unexpectedly, TGA7 preferentially and uniquely interacts with the SA-sensitive C-terminal region of NtNPR1, demonstrating that NtNPR1 harbors multiple distinct TGA factor binding sites. Interaction with NPR1 impairs TGA7 transcription activity in yeast. Furthermore, TGA7 binding to the NtNPR1 C-terminus is outcompeted by SA-induced type 2 NIM1-INTERACTING (NIMIN) proteins. In tobacco plants, a TGA7–Gal4 DNA-binding domain chimeric protein (TGA7GBD) mediates SA-responsive reporter gene expression in young leaf tissue and spontaneous reporter activation in older leaves displaying PR-1 gene expression. Astonishingly, TGA7GBD is also able to activate the reporter independent from PR-1 gene expression in noninduced cotyledons of tobacco seedlings. Together, our findings support a model in which TGA7 mediates both SA-dependent and SA-independent gene activation controlled by the plant’s developmental stage and by the C-terminal region of constitutively accumulating NtNPR1.