Genome-Wide Investigation of the NAC Transcription Factor Family in Apocynum venetum Revealed Their Synergistic Roles in Abiotic Stress Response and Trehalose Metabolism

Abstract

NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) transcription factors (TFs) are one of the most prominent plant-specific TF families and play essential roles in plant growth, development and adaptation to abiotic stress. Although the NAC gene family has been extensively characterized in many species, systematic analysis is still relatively lacking in Apocynum venetum (A. venetum). In this study, 74 AvNAC proteins were identified from the A. venetum genome and were classified into 16 subgroups. This classification was consistently supported by their gene structures, conserved motifs and subcellular localizations. Nucleotide substitution analysis (Ka/Ks) showed the AvNACs to be under the influence of strong purifying selection, and segmental duplication events were found to play the dominant roles in the AvNAC TF family expansion. Cis-elements analysis demonstrated that the light-, stress-, and phytohormone-responsive elements being dominant in the AvNAC promoters, and potential TFs including Dof, BBR-BPC, ERF and MIKC_MADS were visualized in the TF regulatory network. Among these AvNACs, AvNAC58 and AvNAC69 exhibited significant differential expression in response to drought and salt stresses. The protein interaction prediction further confirmed their potential roles in the trehalose metabolism pathway with respect to drought and salt resistance. This study provides a reference for further understanding the functional characteristics of NAC genes in the stress-response mechanism and development of A. venetum.

Metabolite profiling and transcriptomic analyses demonstrate the effects of biocontrol agents on alkaloid accumulation in Fritillaria thunbergii

“…Transcription factors (TFs) control plant metabolism, germination, and responses to biotic and abiotic stressors [ 22 , 23 ]. In our study, 605 differentially expressed TFs were annotated to the transcriptome of F. thunbergii , which was divided into 33 transcription factor families.…”

Transcriptome Profiles Reveals ScDREB10 from Syntrichia caninervis Regulated Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis and Starch/Sucrose Metabolism to Enhance Plant Stress Tolerance

“…Trehalose plays a crucial role in protecting cells and organisms from various stresses and it acts as a stabilizer to help organisms survive unfavorable conditions by stabilizing proteins, membranes, and cellular structures [ 51 , 59 ]. Previous studies have shown that many transcription factors can enhance salt tolerance in plants by increasing the trehalose content [ 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ]. Trehalose biosynthesis had been intensively investigated in plants and has been found to include two steps: the first step involves trehalose-6-phosphate (TPS), which transfers glucose from UDP-glucose to trehalose-6-phosphate and then synthesizes trehalose [ 64 ].…”

Abiotic Stress Tolerance Boosted by Genetic Diversity in Plants

“…The widespread availability of plant genomes [39] enables the systematic characterization of predicted genic features in terms of their functional and phenotypic correlates. Within this exciting framework, Huang et al [31] achieved in silico prediction of the role of NAC transcription factors (TFs) to face a wide spectrum of abiotic stresses [40], including drought and salinity, among others [41], in Apocynum venetum (Apocynaceae), an important source of natural fiber, ideally as restoration species for saline-alkaline soils. Specifically, the authors offered a comprehensive analysis of the TFs involved in the abiotic stress response in these species.…”