Genome-wide identification of Aux/IAA gene family and their expression analysis in Prunus mume

Wenhui Cheng; Man Zhang; Tangren Cheng; Jia Wang; Qixiang Zhang

doi:10.3389/fgene.2022.1013822

Genome-wide identification of Aux/IAA gene family and their expression analysis in Prunus mume

Front Genet. 2022 Oct 12:13:1013822. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1013822. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Wenhui Cheng¹, Man Zhang¹, Tangren Cheng¹, Jia Wang¹, Qixiang Zhang¹

Affiliation

¹ Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants of Ministry of Education, School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

AUXIN/INDOLE ACETIC ACIDs (Aux/IAAs), an early auxin-responsive gene family, is important for plant growth and development. To fully comprehend the character of Aux/IAA genes in woody plants, we identified 19 PmIAA genes in Prunus mume and dissected their protein domains, phylogenetic relationship, gene structure, promoter, and expression patterns during floral bud flushing, auxin response, and abiotic stress response. The study showed that PmIAA proteins shared conserved Aux/IAA domain, but differed in protein motif composition. 19 PmIAA genes were divided into six groups (Groups Ⅰ to Ⅵ) based on phylogenetic analysis. The gene duplication analysis showed that segmental and dispersed duplication greatly influenced the expansion of PmIAA genes. Moreover, we identified and classified the cis-elements of PmIAA gene promoters and detected elements that are related to phytohormone responses and abiotic stress responses. With expression pattern analysis, we observed the auxin-responsive expression of PmIAA5, PmIAA17, and PmIAA18 in flower bud, stem, and leaf tissues. PmIAA5, PmIAA13, PmIAA14, and PmIAA18 were possibly involved in abiotic stress responses in P. mume. In general, these results laid the theoretical foundation for elaborating the functions of Aux/IAA genes in perennial woody plant development.

Keywords: Aux/IAA gene family; Prunus mume; auxin-responsive genes; evolutionary analysis; expression pattern analysis.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2021ZY44), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31902045), and the Special Fund for Beijing Common Construction Project.