Abstract: Sequence assembly from 58 Malus WRKY ESTs resulted in 37 uniESTs. Malus zumi Mats is a salt-tolerant rootstock of apple，which could survive in 0.6% total salt content of land. Primers were designed in M. zumi Mats according to the 37 uniESTs，semi-quantitative RT-PCR was applied to reveal the expression patterns of MzWRKY gene family in response to salt stress. RT-PCR products of 28 MzWRKY genes were detectable, 21 MzWRKYs were up-regulated and 1 MzWRKY was down regulated under salt stress. According to the peak hour，the MzWRKYs were classified into 2 groups. The different expression patterns of MzWRKY genes suggested that WRKY proteins play various roles in response to salt stress in M. zumi Mats.

Key words: Malus zumi Mats, WRKY transcription factor, salt stress, semi-quantitative RT-PCR