Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of ADP-ribosylation factors associated with biotic and abiotic stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Yaqian Li; Jinghan Song; Guang Zhu; Zehao Hou; Lin Wang; Xiaoxue Wu; Zhengwu Fang; Yike Liu; Chunbao Gao

doi:10.7717/peerj.10963

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of ADP-ribosylation factors associated with biotic and abiotic stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

PeerJ. 2021 Mar 2:9:e10963. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10963. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yaqian Li^{1

2}, Jinghan Song^{1

2}, Guang Zhu¹, Zehao Hou², Lin Wang², Xiaoxue Wu², Zhengwu Fang², Yike Liu^{1

2}, Chunbao Gao^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Crop Germplasm and Genetic Improvement, Food Crops Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Hubei Engineering and Technology Research Center of Wheat/Wheat Disease Biology Research Station for Central China, Wuhan, China.
² Engineering Research Center of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education/Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain Industry/College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China.

Abstract

The ARF gene family plays important roles in intracellular transport in eukaryotes and is involved in conferring tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. To explore the role of these genes in the development of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), 74 wheat ARF genes (TaARFs; including 18 alternate transcripts) were identified and clustered into seven sub-groups. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that TaARFA1 sub-group genes were strongly conserved. Numerous cis-elements functionally associated with the stress response and hormones were identified in the TaARFA1 sub-group, implying that these TaARFs are induced in response to abiotic and biotic stresses in wheat. According to available transcriptome data and qRT-PCR analysis, the TaARFA1 genes displayed tissue-specific expression patterns and were regulated by biotic stress (powdery mildew and stripe rust) and abiotic stress (cold, heat, ABA, drought and NaCl). Protein interaction network analysis further indicated that TaARFA1 proteins may interact with protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C), which is a key protein in the ABA signaling pathway. This comprehensive analysis will be useful for further functional characterization of TaARF genes and the development of high-quality wheat varieties.

Keywords: Gene expression; Genome-wide; Phylogenetic analysis; TaARF; Wheat.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFD0100802), Hubei Provincial Special Project of Central Government Guides Local Science and Technology Development (2020ZYYD011), the Technology Innovation Project of Hubei Province (2018ABA085), and China Agriculture Research System (CARS-03). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.