scholarly journals Dynamic differential evolution schemes of WRKY transcription factors in domesticated and wild rice

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne J. Villacastin ◽  
Keeley S. Adams ◽  
Rin Boonjue ◽  
Paul J. Rushton ◽  
Mira Han ◽  
...  

AbstractWRKY transcription factors play key roles in stress responses, growth, and development. We previously reported on the evolution of WRKYs from unicellular green algae to land plants. To address recent evolution events, we studied three domesticated and eight wild species in the genus Oryza, an ideal model due to its long history of domestication, economic importance, and central role as a model system. We have identified prevalence of Group III WRKYs despite differences in breeding of cultivated and wild species. Same groups of WRKY genes tend to cluster together, suggesting recent, multiple duplication events. Duplications followed by divergence may result in neofunctionalizations of co-expressed WRKY genes that finely tune the regulation of target genes in a same metabolic or response pathway. WRKY genes have undergone recent rearrangements to form novel genes. Group Ib WRKYs, unique to AA genome type Oryza species, are derived from Group III genes dated back to 6.76 million years ago. Gene tree reconciliation analysis with the species tree revealed details of duplication and loss events in the 11 genomes. Selection analysis on single copy orthologs reveals the highly conserved nature of the WRKY domain and clusters of fast evolving sites under strong positive selection pressure. Also, the numbers of single copy orthologs under positive or negative selection almost evenly split. Our results provide valuable insights into the preservation and diversification of an important gene family under strong selective pressure for biotechnological improvements of the world’s most valued food crop.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5354
Author(s):  
Jinhong Kan ◽  
Guangqi Gao ◽  
Qiang He ◽  
Qian Gao ◽  
Congcong Jiang ◽  
...  

The WRKY transcription factors (WRKYs) are known for their crucial roles in biotic and abiotic stress responses, and developmental and physiological processes. In barley, early studies revealed their importance, whereas their diversity at the population scale remains hardly estimated. In this study, 98 HsWRKYs and 103 HvWRKYs have been identified from the reference genome of wild and cultivated barley, respectively. The tandem duplication and segmental duplication events from the cultivated barley were observed. By taking advantage of early released exome-captured sequencing datasets in 90 wild barley accessions and 137 landraces, the diversity analysis uncovered synonymous and non-synonymous variants instead of loss-of-function mutations that had occurred at all WRKYs. For majority of WRKYs, the haplotype and nucleotide diversity both decreased in cultivated barley relative to the wild population. Five WRKYs were detected to have undergone selection, among which haplotypes of WRKY9 were enriched, correlating with the geographic collection sites. Collectively, profiting from the state-of-the-art barley genomic resources, this work represented the characterization and diversity of barley WRKY transcription factors, shedding light on future deciphering of their roles in barley domestication and adaptation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin-Wei Zhao ◽  
Jiaqi Wu ◽  
Hirohisa Kishino

As one of the most successful categories of organisms, mammals occupy a variety of niches on earth as a result of macroevolution. Transcription factors (TFs), the basic regulators of gene expression, may also evolve during mammalian phenotypic diversification and macroevolution. To examine the relationship between TFs and mammalian macroevolution, we analyzed 140,821 de novo-identified TFs and their birth and death histories from 96 mammalian species. Gene tree vs. species tree reconciliation revealed that mammals experienced an upsurge in TF losses around 100 million years ago and also near the K–Pg boundary, thus implying a relationship with the divergence of placental animals. From approximately 100 million years ago to the present, losses dominated TF events without a significant change in TF gains. To quantify the effects of this TF pruning on mammalian macroevolution, we analyzed rates of molecular evolution and expression profiles of regulated target genes. Surprisingly, TF loss decelerated, rather than accelerated, molecular evolutionary rates of their target genes, suggesting increased functional constraints. Furthermore, an association study revealed that massive TF losses are significantly positively correlated with solitary behavior, nocturnality, reproductive-seasonality and insectivory life history traits, possibly through rewiring of regulatory networks.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Baumann ◽  
Tatiana I. Ignashkova ◽  
Sridhar R. Chirasani ◽  
Silvia Ramírez-Peinado ◽  
Hamed Alborzinia ◽  
...  

The secretory pathway is a major determinant of cellular homoeostasis. While research into secretory stress signaling has so far mostly focused on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), emerging data suggest that the Golgi itself serves as an important signaling hub capable of initiating stress responses. To systematically identify novel Golgi stress mediators, we performed a transcriptomic analysis of cells exposed to three different pharmacological compounds known to elicit Golgi fragmentation: brefeldin A, golgicide A, and monensin. Subsequent gene-set enrichment analysis revealed a significant contribution of the ETS family transcription factors ELK1, GABPA/B, and ETS1 to the control of gene expression following compound treatment. Induction of Golgi stress leads to a late activation of the ETS upstream kinases MEK1/2 and ERK1/2, resulting in enhanced ETS factor activity and the transcription of ETS family target genes related to spliceosome function and cell death induction via alternate MCL1 splicing. Further genetic analyses using loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments suggest that these transcription factors operate in parallel.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Njoroge Kimotho ◽  
Elamin Hafiz Baillo ◽  
Zhengbin Zhang

Background: Maize (Zea mays L.) is a principal cereal crop cultivated worldwide for human food, animal feed, and more recently as a source of biofuel. However, as a direct consequence of water insufficiency and climate change, frequent occurrences of both biotic and abiotic stresses have been reported in different regions around the world, and recently, this has become a major threat in increasing global maize yields. Plants respond to abiotic stresses by utilizing the activity of transcription factors, which are families of genes coding for specific transcription factor proteins whose target genes form a regulon which is involved in the repression/ activation of genes associated with abiotic stress responses. Therefore, it is of uttermost importance to have a systematic study on each family of the transcription factors, the downstream target genes they regulate, and the specific transcription factor genes which are involved in multiple abiotic stress responses in maize and other main crops. Method: In this review, the main transcription factor families, the specific transcription factor genes and their regulons which are involved in abiotic stress regulation will be momentarily discussed. Great emphasis will be given on maize abiotic stress improvement throughout this review, although other examples from other plants like rice, Arabidopsis, wheat, and barley will be used. Results: We have described in detail the main transcription factor families in maize which take part in abiotic stress responses together with their regulons. Furthermore, we have also briefly described the utilization of high-efficiency technologies in the study and characterization of TFs involved in the abiotic stress regulatory networks in plants with an emphasis on increasing maize production. Examples of these technologies include next-generation sequencing, microarray analysis, machine learning and RNA-Seq technology. Conclusion: In conclusion, it is hoped that all the information provided in this review may in time contribute to the use of TF genes in the research, breeding, and development of new abiotic stress tolerant maize cultivars.


Author(s):  
Roy Njoroge Kimotho ◽  
Elamin Hafiz Baillo ◽  
Zhengbin Zhang

Background: Maize (Zea mays L.) is a principal cereal crop cultivated worldwide for human food, animal feed, and more recently as a source of biofuel. However, as a direct consequence of water insufficiency and climate change, frequent occurrences of both biotic and abiotic stresses have been reported in different regions around the world, and recently, this has become a major threat in increasing global maize yields. Plants respond to abiotic stresses by utilizing the activity of transcription factors, which are families of genes coding for specific transcription factor proteins whose target genes form a regulon which is involved in the repression/ activation of genes associated with abiotic stress responses. Therefore, it is of uttermost importance to have a systematic study on each family of the transcription factors, the downstream target genes they regulate, and the specific transcription factor genes which are involved in multiple abiotic stress responses in maize and other main crops. Method: In this review, the main transcription factor families, the specific transcription factor genes and their regulons which are involved in abiotic stress regulation will be momentarily discussed. Great emphasis will be given on maize abiotic stress improvement throughout this review, although other examples from other plants like rice, Arabidopsis, wheat, and barley will be used. Results: We have described in detail the main transcription factor families in maize which take part in abiotic stress responses together with their regulons. Furthermore, we have also briefly described the utilization of high-efficiency technologies in the study and characterization of TFs involved in the abiotic stress regulatory networks in plants with an emphasis on increasing maize production. Examples of these technologies include next-generation sequencing, microarray analysis, machine learning and RNA-Seq technology. Conclusion: In conclusion, it is hoped that all the information provided in this review may in time contribute to the use of TF genes in the research, breeding, and development of new abiotic stress tolerant maize cultivars.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Njoroge Kimotho ◽  
Elamin Hafiz Baillo ◽  
Zhengbin Zhang

Background Maize (Zea mays L.) is a principal cereal crop cultivated worldwide for human food, animal feed, and more recently as a source of biofuel. However, as a direct consequence of water insufficiency and climate change, frequent occurrences of both biotic and abiotic stresses have been reported in various regions around the world, and recently, this has become a constant threat in increasing global maize yields. Plants respond to abiotic stresses by utilizing the activities of transcription factors (TFs), which are families of genes coding for specific TF proteins. TF target genes form a regulon that is involved in the repression/activation of genes associated with abiotic stress responses. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to have a systematic study on each TF family, the downstream target genes they regulate, and the specific TF genes involved in multiple abiotic stress responses in maize and other staple crops. Method In this review, the main TF families, the specific TF genes and their regulons that are involved in abiotic stress regulation will be briefly discussed. Great emphasis will be given on maize abiotic stress improvement throughout this review, although other examples from different plants like rice, Arabidopsis, wheat, and barley will be used. Results We have described in detail the main TF families in maize that take part in abiotic stress responses together with their regulons. Furthermore, we have also briefly described the utilization of high-efficiency technologies in the study and characterization of TFs involved in the abiotic stress regulatory networks in plants with an emphasis on increasing maize production. Examples of these technologies include next-generation sequencing, microarray analysis, machine learning, and RNA-Seq. Conclusion In conclusion, it is expected that all the information provided in this review will in time contribute to the use of TF genes in the research, breeding, and development of new abiotic stress tolerant maize cultivars.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 2469-2480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling-ling DOU ◽  
Ya-ning GUO ◽  
Evans Ondati ◽  
Chao-you PANG ◽  
Heng-ling WEI ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 6125
Author(s):  
Xiaopei Wang ◽  
Yanli Niu ◽  
Yuan Zheng

Plants face a more volatile environment than other organisms because of their immobility, and they have developed highly efficient mechanisms to adapt to stress conditions. Transcription factors, as an important part of the adaptation process, are activated by different signals and are responsible for the expression of stress-responsive genes. MYB transcription factors, as one of the most widespread transcription factor families in plants, participate in plant development and responses to stresses by combining with MYB cis-elements in promoters of target genes. MYB transcription factors have been extensively studied and have proven to be critical in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in plants, including anthocyanins, flavonols, and lignin. Multiple studies have now shown that MYB proteins play diverse roles in the responses to abiotic stresses, such as drought, salt, and cold stresses. However, the regulatory mechanism of MYB proteins in abiotic stresses is still not well understood. In this review, we will focus mainly on the function of Arabidopsis MYB transcription factors in abiotic stresses, especially how MYB proteins participate in these stress responses. We also pay attention to how the MYB proteins are regulated in these processes at both the transcript and protein levels.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2429
Author(s):  
Rocío Carmona-Molero ◽  
Jose C. Jimenez-Lopez ◽  
Cristina Caballo ◽  
Juan Gil ◽  
Teresa Millán ◽  
...  

Legumes play an important role in ensuring food security, improving nutrition and enhancing ecosystem resilience. Chickpea is a globally important grain legume adapted to semi-arid regions under rain-fed conditions. A growing body of research shows that aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) represent a gene class with promising potential for plant adaptation improvement. Aldehyde dehydrogenases constitute a superfamily of proteins with important functions as ‘aldehyde scavengers’ by detoxifying aldehydes molecules, and thus play important roles in stress responses. We performed a comprehensive study of the ALDH superfamily in the chickpea genome and identified 27 unique ALDH loci. Most chickpea ALDHs originated from duplication events and the ALDH3 gene family was noticeably expanded. Based on the physical locations of genes and sequence similarities, our results suggest that segmental duplication is a major driving force in the expansion of the ALDH family. Supported by expression data, the findings of this study offer new potential target genes for improving stress tolerance in chickpea that will be useful for breeding programs.


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