Heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) play crucial roles in resisting heat stress and regulating plant development. Recently, HSFs have been shown to play roles in anther development. Thus, investigating the HSF family members and identifying their protective roles in anthers are essential for the further development of male sterile wheat breeding. In the present study, 61 wheat HSF genes (TaHsfs) were identified in the whole wheat genome and they are unequally distributed on 21 chromosomes. According to gene structure and phylogenetic analyses, the 61 TaHsfs were classified into three categories and 12 subclasses. Genome-wide duplication was identified as the main source of the expansion of the wheat HSF gene family based on 14 pairs of homeologous triplets, whereas only a very small number of TaHsfs were derived by segmental duplication and tandem duplication. Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), HSP70, and another class of chaperone protein called htpG were identified as proteins that interact with wheat HSFs. RNA-seq analysis indicated that TaHsfs have obvious period- and tissue-specific expression patterns, and the TaHsfs in classes A and B respond to heat shock, whereas the C class TaHsfs are involved in drought regulation. qRT-PCR identified three TaHsfA2bs with differential expression in sterile and fertile anthers, and they may be candidate genes involved in anther development. This comprehensive analysis provides novel insights into TaHsfs, and it will be useful for understanding the mechanism of plant fertility conversion.
Keywords: evolution; genome-wide; heat shock transcription factor; thermo-sensitive male sterility; wheat.