Genome-wide analysis of WRKY transcription factors in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and differential expression under water deficit condition

Abstract

Background. WRKY proteins, which comprise one of the largest transcription factor (TF) families in the plant kingdom, play crucial roles in plant development and stress responses. Despite several studies on WRKYs in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), functional annotation information about wheat WRKYs is limited. Results. Here, 171 TaWRKY TFs were identified from the whole wheat genome and compared with proteins from 19 other species representing nine major plant lineages. A phylogenetic analysis, coupled with gene structure analysis and motif determination, divided these TaWRKYs into seven subgroups (Group I, IIa-e, and III). Chromosomal location showed that most TaWRKY genes were enriched on four chromosomes, especially on chromosome 3B. In addition, 85 (49.7%) genes were either tandem (5) or segmental duplication (80), which suggested that though tandem duplication has contributed to the expansion of TaWRKY family, segmental duplication probably played a more pivotal role. Analysis of cis-acting elements revealed putative functions of WRKYs in wheat during development as well as under numerous biotic and abiotic stresses. Finally, the expression of TaWRKY genes in flag leaves, glumes, and lemmas under water-deficit condition were analyzed. Results showed that different TaWRKY genes preferentially express in specific tissue during the grain-filling stage. Conclusion. Our results provide a more extensive insight on WRKY gene family in wheat, and also contribute to the screening of more candidate genes for further investigation on function characterization of WRKYs under various stresses.

A Wheat WRKY Transcription Factor TaWRKY46 Enhances Tolerance to Osmotic Stress in transgenic Arabidopsis Plants

“…As a hexaploid plant, the wheat genome consists of the A, B, and D genomes with 15,966 Mb in size [17,18]. In a previous study, 171 WRKY TFs were identified in wheat [19]. Less than one-third of wheat TaWRKYs have been functionally analyzed so far.…”

“…In our previous work, 45 WRKY TFs which belonged to Group III were identified in wheat [19]. To assess the function of wheat Group III members, a Group III gene TaWRKY46 (TRAES3BF051200110CFD_t1) is cloned in this study.…”

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of WRKY transcription factors in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) under dehydration and salinity stress

“…Considering that WRKY TF is one of the key biological regulators, several studies have characterized their role in various plant species like foxtail millet, wheat, cotton and grapevine etc. [28][29][30][32][33][34][35][36]. However, no such studies have been reported that may provide extensive insights about the role of WRKY TFs in pearl millet (P. glaucum).…”

Histone Acetyltransferases (HATs) in Chinese Cabbage: Insights from Histone H3 Acetylation and Expression Profiling of HATs in Response to Abiotic Stresses

“…Chromosome 3 contained the highest density of HAT genes with three members (BraHAC3, BraHAG1, and BraHAG2), and two HAT genes were found on chromosome 1 (BraHAC1 and BraHAF1), 4 (BraHAG3 and BraHAG4), 9 (BraHAC7 and BraHAG5), and 10 (BraHAG6 and BraHAG7). Tandem duplicated genes are characterized as two or more adjacent homologous genes located on a single chromosome, whereas gene duplication on different chromosomes is defined as segmental duplicated genes (Hyun et al, 2014;Ning et al, 2017), indicating that the GCN5 subfamily (BraHAG3 and BraHAG4) in chinese cabbage seems to have evolved from tandem duplication. In addition, duplication analysis regarding the identification of chromosomal homologous segments within the genome exhibited five pairs of segmental duplicated paralogs (BraHAC1/3, BraHAC2/5, BraHAC6/7, BraHAG1/6, and BraHAG5/7) (Fig.…”