Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of the OPR Gene Family in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

The 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid reductases (OPRs), which belong to the old yellow enzyme (OYE) family, are flavin mononucleotide (FMN)-dependent oxidoreductases with critical functions in plants. Despite the clear characteristics of growth and development, as well as the defense responses in Arabidopsis, tomato, rice, and maize, the potential roles of OPRs in wheat are not fully understood. Here, forty-eight putative OPR genes were found and classified into five subfamilies, with 6 in sub. I, 4 in sub. II, 33 in sub. III, 3 in sub. IV, and 2 in sub. V. Similar gene structures and conserved protein motifs of TaOPRs in wheat were identified in the same subfamilies. An analysis of cis-acting elements in promoters revealed that the functions of OPRs in wheat were mostly related to growth, development, hormones, biotic, and abiotic stresses. A total of 14 wheat OPR genes were identified as tandem duplicated genes, while 37 OPR genes were segmentally duplicated genes. The expression patterns of TaOPRs were tissue- and stress-specific, and the expression of TaOPRs could be regulated or induced by phytohormones and various stresses. Therefore, there were multiple wheat OPR genes, classified into five subfamilies, with functional diversification and specific expression patterns, and to our knowledge, this was the first study to systematically investigate the wheat OPR gene family. The findings not only provide a scientific foundation for the comprehensive understanding of the wheat OPR gene family, but could also be helpful for screening more candidate genes and breeding new varieties of wheat, with a high yield and stress resistance.

Genome-Wide Analysis of OPR Family Genes in Cotton Identified a Role for GhOPR9 in Verticillium dahliae Resistance

“…Group II, Group III, and Group IV contained 21, 16, and 22 OPR proteins, respectively. Monocots species OPR members were clustered in all five Groups, such as Ta OPRs , which was consistent with previous studies [ 20 ]. Dicots species OPRs were distributed in Group I and Group II.…”

“…III. Among of the motifs, motif 1, motif 2, motif 3, motif 4, motif 5, and motif 6 were corresponded to the beta/alpha barrel which might be related to the protein secondary structures [ 20 ]. In conclusion, the results provided an additional evidence to support the classification results.…”

“…Subsequently, OPR genes were identified in dicots and monocots, such as pea [ 15 ], maize [ 16 ], tomato [ 17 ], tea [ 18 ], rice [ 19 ], and wheat [ 20 ]. In contrast to dicots, the OPR genes were classified into five subgroups in monocots [ 21 ].…”

“…In contrast to dicots, the OPR genes were classified into five subgroups in monocots [ 21 ]. In wheat, 48 OPR genes were classified into five groups: there were six in Group I, four in Group II, 33 in Group III, three in Group IV, and two in Group V [ 20 ]. The OPR genes expression levels were different in different tissues of plants or under various biotic and abiotic stresses, based on their distinct biological functions.…”

Magnaporthe oryzae Systemic Defense Trigger 1 (MoSDT1)-Mediated Metabolites Regulate Defense Response in Rice

“…In addition to its role in JA synthesis, OsJMT1 is also primarily involved in responding to pathogen infection, during which OsOPR7 got involved in JA biosynthesis in plants. However, OsOPR1 plays a role in the rice self-defense response [39], indicating that the jasmonic acid synthetic pathway is activated, and genes in this pathway are involved in both jasmonic acid synthesis and defense response.…”