Drought affects soybean growth and ultimately led to yield reduction. WRKY transcription factors involve in the regulation of abiotic stress. Few functions of WRKY transcription factors underlying drought tolerance in soybean are clear. Here, we reported a WRKY transcription factor named GmWRKY17 that positively regulates soybean drought tolerance by regulating drought-induced genes and ABA-related genes. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) and yeast one hybrid analysis identified downstream genes regulated by GmWRKY17. ChIP-qPCR, EMSA and dual-luciferase reporter assay showed that GmWRKY17 directly bound to the promoters of the GmDREB1D and GmABA2, and activated their expression under drought stress. Overexpression of GmDREB1D gene enhanced drought tolerance of soybean. Taken together, our study revealed a regulatory mechanism that GmWRKY17 transcription factor may improve soybean drought tolerance by mediating ABA synthesis and DREB signaling pathway.

干旱影响大豆生长，最终导致产量下降。 WRKY 转录因子参与非生物胁迫的调节。大豆耐旱性中 WRKY 转录因子的功能尚不清楚。在这里，我们报道了一个名为 GmWRKY17 的 WRKY 转录因子，它通过调节干旱诱导基因和 ABA 相关基因来正向调节大豆的耐旱性。转录组测序 (RNA-Seq) 和酵母 One 杂交分析鉴定出受 GmWRKY17 调控的下游基因。 ChIP-qPCR、EMSA 和双荧光素酶报告基因检测表明，GmWRKY17 直接与GmDREB1D和GmABA2的启动子结合，并在干旱胁迫下激活它们的表达。 GmDREB1D基因的过表达增强了大豆的耐旱性。综上所述，我们的研究揭示了GmWRKY17转录因子可能通过介导ABA合成和DREB信号通路来提高大豆耐旱性的调节机制。