Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of MKK and MAPK Gene Families in Brassica Species and Response to Stress in Brassica napus

Abstract

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are common and conserved signal transduction pathways and play important roles in various biotic and abiotic stress responses and growth and developmental processes in plants. With the advancement of sequencing technology, more systematic genetic information is being explored. The work presented here focuses on two protein families in Brassica species: MAPK kinases (MKKs) and their phosphorylation substrates MAPKs. Forty-seven MKKs and ninety-two MAPKs were identified and extensively analyzed from two tetraploid (B. juncea and B. napus) and three diploid (B. nigra, B. oleracea, and B. rapa) Brassica species. Phylogenetic relationships clearly distinguished both MKK and MAPK families into four groups, labeled A–D, which were also supported by gene structure and conserved protein motif analysis. Furthermore, their spatial and temporal expression patterns and response to stresses (cold, drought, heat, and shading) were analyzed, indicating that BnaMKK and BnaMAPK transcript levels were generally modulated by growth, development, and stress signals. In addition, several protein interaction pairs between BnaMKKs and C group BnaMAPKs were detected by yeast two-hybrid assays, in which BnaMKK3 and BnaMKK9 showed strong interactions with BnaMAPK1/2/7, suggesting that interaction between BnaMKKs and C group BnaMAPKs play key roles in the crosstalk between growth and development processes and abiotic stresses. Taken together, our data provide a deeper foundation for the evolutionary and functional characterization of MKK and MAPK gene families in Brassica species, paving the way for unraveling the biological roles of these important signaling molecules in plants.

ATP-Binding Cassette Expression Profilling Revealed its Role in Development and Regulating Stress Response in Potato (Solanum Tuberosum)

“…To date, an increasing number of studies have shown that members of the ABC transporters family can play an important role in response to different stresses (Wang et al, 2021). In potato we observed upregulation of Stabct3 and Stabct51 under heat stress and similar results also seen in rice (Moon and Jung, 2014).…”

ICE-CBF-COR Signaling Cascade and Its Regulation in Plants Responding to Cold Stress

“…Therefore, Ca 2+ /CaM-dependent proteins have been reported in various plants including: Vitis vinifera [105], Zea mays L [106], soybean [107], Brassica napus [108], Populus trichocarpa [109], citrus trees [110], and other Gossypium species [111]. Kinases and their profile expressions under cold stress have been recently reported in Brassica napus [112], Jatropha curcas [113], and Common vetch [114]. The Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) cascade regulates cold stress through the binding roles of Calcium/Calmodulin-Regulated Receptors Kinase-Like 1 (CRKL1) [115].…”

“…In Arabidopsis, phosphorylated MPK6 mediates the negative expression of CBF3 by activating a negative regulator, MYB15 [122]. On the contrary, MPK4/6 activates CBF expression by inhibiting the MKK4/5-MPK3/6 pathway [112] Figure 4. The ICE-CBF-COR response pathway to cold stress initiates at the plasma membrane to plant cold tolerance.…”

Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Expression Profiling Revealed Its Role in Regulating Stress Responses in Potato (Solanum tuberosum)

“…This suggests that potato MAPK genes have a substantial role in plant growth, development, and response to various stresses. To date, an increasing number of studies have shown that members of the MAPK family can play an important role in response to different stresses [ 53 ]. In potato, StMAPK2 , StMAPK6 , and StMAPK19 are upregulated in response to heat stress.…”