WRKY transcription factors (pronounced ‘worky’) are proteins that bind DNA. They are transcription factors that regulate many processes in plants and algae (Viridiplantae), such as the responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, senescence, seed dormancy and seed germination and some developmental processes but also contribute to secondary metabolism. Individual WRKY proteins do appear in the human protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia and slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum.