根据前期对红花（Carthamus tinctorius Linn.）WRKY基因家族的鉴定结果，利用RT-PCR技术克隆了红花CtWRKY7和CtWRKY72基因，其蛋白质编码序列（CDS）长度分别为600和861 bp，全长序列均含有3个外显子和2个内含子。CtWRKY7和CtWRKY72蛋白分别含有199和286个氨基酸残基，且二者均无跨膜结构和信号肽，定位于细胞核，二级结构主要由无规卷曲组成，三级结构较为松散。多序列比对及系统进化分析结果显示：CtWRKY7与菊花〔Chrysanthemum × morifolium (Ramat.) Hemsl.〕CmWRKY15和莴笋（Lactuca sativa var. angustata Irish ex Bremer）LsWRKY18的亲缘关系最近，均属于Ⅱa类WRKY；CtWRKY72与拟南芥〔Arabidopsis thaliana (Linn.) Heynh.〕AtWRKY70和AtWRKY54的亲缘关系最近，均属于Ⅲ类WRKY。启动子分析结果显示：CtWRKY7和CtWRKY72的启动子均含有多种逆境胁迫应答元件，且CtWRKY7的启动子含有W-box，而CtWRKY72的启动子无W-box。基因表达分析结果显示：CtWRKY7和CtWRKY72在红花的不同组织中均有表达，其中，CtWRKY7在根中表达量最高，CtWRKY72在叶中表达量最高；且二者均在花组织形成过程中表达量逐渐下降，在花开放过程中表达量逐渐上升。此外，CtWRKY7和CtWRKY72均响应多种逆境胁迫和外源激素诱导，但表达模式不同，总体上上调表达，仅CtWRKY7在外源ABA诱导下下调表达。综上所述，CtWRKY7和CtWRKY72可能参与红花花早期发育及衰老过程，CtWRKY7可能存在自我调节或与其他WRKY蛋白存在交叉调节；并且，CtWRKY7和CtWRKY72能响应多种逆境胁迫，但作用机制不同。

  Based on previous identification result of the WRKY gene family of Carthamus tinctorius Linn., CtWRKY7 and CtWRKY72 genes were cloned from C. tinctorius by RT-PCR technology. The protein coding sequences (CDS) of CtWRKY7  and CtWRKY72  genes are 600 and 861 bp in length, and their full-length sequences all contain 3 exons and 2 introns. CtWRKY7 and CtWRKY72 proteins have 199 and 286 amino acid residues respectively, both of them have no transmembrane structures or signal peptides, with nuclear localization, major random coils of secondary structure, and loose tertiary structure. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis results show that CtWRKY7 is most closely related to CmWRKY15 from Chrysanthemum × morifolium (Ramat.) Hemsl. and LsWRKY18 from Lactuca sativa var. angustata Irish ex Bremer, which all belong to class Ⅱa WRKY; CtWRKY72 is most closely related to AtWRKY70 and AtWRKY54 from Arabidopsis thaliana (Linn.) Heynh., which all belong to class Ⅲ WRKY. Promoter analysis result shows that both CtWRKY7 and CtWRKY72 contain multiple adversity stress response elements in their promoters, and CtWRKY7 has W-box in its promoter, while CtWRKY72 has no Wbox in its promoter. Gene expression analysis result shows that CtWRKY7 and CtWRKY72 are expressed in different tissues of C. tinctorius, in which, the expression of CtWRKY7 is the highest in roots, and that of CtWRKY72 is the highest in leaves. Their expressions gradually decrease during the formation process of flower tissues, and gradually increase during the process of flower blooming. Furthermore, both CtWRKY7 and CtWRKY72 response to various adversity stresses and exogenous hormone induction, but their expression patterns are different, with overall upregulation, except for downregulation of CtWRKY7 after exogenous ABA induction. In conclusion, CtWRKY7 and CtWRKY72 can be involved in the early development and senescence processes of C. tinctorius flowers. CtWRKY7 can selfregulate or cross-regulate with other WRKY proteins; moreover, both CtWRKY7 and CtWRKY72 can respond to various adversity stresses, but their mechanisms are different.