Heat Shock Factor TaHSFA6e Interacts With TaNAC019 to Activate TaHSP70 Expression and Positively Contributes to Salt Stress in Wheat.

Soil salinization, exacerbated by seawater intrusion and climate change, poses a major constraint on crop production. To cope with salt stress, plants have evolved complex mechanisms involving numerous tolerance-related genes. We identified that heat shock protein TaHSP70 acted as a positive regulator in response to salt stress in wheat. Further analysis revealed that heat shock transcription factor TaHSFA6e and NAC transcription factor TaNAC019 physically interact and function additively to activate TaHSP70 expression. Whereas a single-nucleotide T insertion within the coding sequence of TaNAC019-B reduced the transcriptional activity of TaHSP70. Overexpression of either TaHSFA6e or TaNAC019 enhanced salt tolerance in wheat. Collectively, these findings highlight the importance of the heat shock protein pathway in mediating salt stress responses in wheat.