Functional Characterization of the Versatile MYB Gene Family Uncovered Their Important Roles in Plant Development and Responses to Drought and Waterlogging in Sesame

Abstract

The MYB gene family constitutes one of the largest transcription factors (TFs) modulating various biological processes in plants. Although genome-wide analysis of this gene family has been carried out in some species, only three MYB members have been functionally characterized heretofore in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). Here, we identified a relatively high number (287) of sesame MYB genes (SIMYBs) with an uncommon overrepresentation of the 1R-subfamily. A total of 95% of SIMYBs was mapped unevenly onto the 16 linkage groups of the sesame genome with 55 SIMYBs tandemly duplicated. In addition, molecular characterization, gene structure, and evolutionary relationships of SIMYBs were established. Based on the close relationship between sesame and Arabidopsis thaliana, we uncovered that the functions of SIMYBs are highly diverse. A total of 65% of SIMYBs were commonly detected in five tissues, suggesting that they represent key TFs modulating sesame growth and development. Moreover, we found that SIMYBs regulate sesame responses to drought and waterlogging, which highlights the potential of SIMYBs towards improving stress tolerance in sesame. This work presents a comprehensive picture of the MYB gene family in sesame and paves the way for further functional validation of the members of this versatile gene family.

Transcription Factors in Plant Stress Responses: Challenges and Potential for Sugarcane Improvement

“…HTH fold consists of three tryptophan (amino acids) spaced equally apart forming a hydrophobic core [101]. The R2R3-MYB subfamily has also been classified in 30-38 groups on the basis of diverse domains of N-and C-terminal [102]. The presence and role of MYB TFs have thoroughly been investigated in various plant species including sugarcane, thus making them key factors for regulating response to biotic and abiotic stresses (Table 1).…”

Peer Review #2 of "Genome-wide characterization and expression analyses of the MYB superfamily genes during developmental stages in Chinese jujube (v0.1)"

“…The lengths of the protein sequences of ZjMYB genes ranged from 91 to 1214 amino acids. The isoelectric point (pI) values for ZjMYB proteins ranged from 4.78 (ZjMYB108) to 10.39 (ZjMYB145), with an average of 7.21, which is similar to those for MYB proteins in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) and peach (Mmadi et al, 2017;Zhang & Ma et al, 2018). The molecular weight (Mw) ranged from 10558.01 Da (ZjMYB74) to 136172.41 Da (ZjMYB23), with an average of 42499.15 Da.…”

“…For instance, 256 MYB genes were found in peach (Zhang & Ma et al, 2018), 177 in sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) (Hou et al, 2014) and 125 in physic nut (Zhou et al, 2015). According to previous studies, the MYB family is the largest TF family in jujube Song et al, 2017;Shao et al, 2017;Zhang & Ma et al, 2017), consistent with previous reports in Arabidopsis (Riechmann et al, 2000). The ZjMYB genes can be divided into five subfamilies, including 58 MYB-related proteins, 99 R2R3-MYB proteins, 4 R1R2R3-MYB proteins, 1 4R-MYB protein, and 9 atypical MYB proteins.…”

Protection Mehcanism Against Drought In Axsonopus Compressus: Insight of Physio-Biochemical Traits, Antioxident Interplay and Gene Experssion

“…The plant confronts long-term drought stress by improved enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants that assure plant tolerance against drought stress [13,16], and activation of cellular mechanisms [17], which are controlled by different gene. The drought-responsive genes such as MAPK1, DREB2, WRKY1, NAC1, and MYB5, etc are well-known for their crucial role in drought tolerance [18][19][20][21][22]. Similarly, PIP gene family such as OsPIP2;1 and OsPIP2;2 in rice, may constitutively control the water transport during drought [23].…”