Hsf transcription factor gene family in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.): genome-wide characterization and expression analysis under drought and salt stresses

Qi Wang; Zhenbiao Zhang; Cun Guo; Xiaobo Zhao; Zhiyuan Li; Yifei Mou; Quanxi Sun; Juan Wang; Cuiling Yuan; Chunjuan Li; Ping Cong; Shihua Shan

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1214732

Hsf transcription factor gene family in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.): genome-wide characterization and expression analysis under drought and salt stresses

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Jul 5:14:1214732. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1214732. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Qi Wang¹, Zhenbiao Zhang², Cun Guo³, Xiaobo Zhao¹, Zhiyuan Li², Yifei Mou¹, Quanxi Sun¹, Juan Wang¹, Cuiling Yuan¹, Chunjuan Li¹, Ping Cong², Shihua Shan¹

Affiliations

¹ Shandong Peanut Research Institute, Qingdao, China.
² Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao, China.
³ Kunming Branch of Yunnan Provincial Tobacco Company, Kunming, China.

Abstract

Heat shock transcription factors (Hsfs) play important roles in plant developmental regulations and various stress responses. In present study, 46 Hsf genes in peanut (AhHsf) were identified and analyzed. The 46 AhHsf genes were classed into three groups (A, B, and C) and 14 subgroups (A1-A9, B1-B4, and C1) together with their Arabidopsis homologs according to phylogenetic analyses, and 46 AhHsf genes unequally located on 17 chromosomes. Gene structure and protein motif analysis revealed that members from the same subgroup possessed similar exon/intron and motif organization, further supporting the results of phylogenetic analyses. Gene duplication events were found in peanut Hsf gene family via syntenic analysis, which were important in Hsf gene family expansion in peanut. The expression of AhHsf genes were detected in different tissues using published data, implying that AhHsf genes may differ in function. In addition, several AhHsf genes (AhHsf5, AhHsf11, AhHsf20, AhHsf24, AhHsf30, AhHsf35) were induced by drought and salt stresses. Furthermore, the stress-induced member AhHsf20 was found to be located in nucleus. Notably, overexpression of AhHsf20 was able to enhance salt tolerance. These results from this study may provide valuable information for further functional analysis of peanut Hsf genes.

Keywords: Hsf; abiotic stress; gene family; peanut; transcription factor.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFD1200400), the Innovation Project of SAAS (CXGC2022E20, CXGC2023F20), the Agro-industry Technology Research System of Shandong Province (SDAIT-04-02), and the Shandong Elite Variety Project (2020LZGC001).