DHHC-cysteine-rich domain S-acyltransferase protein family in rice: organization, phylogenetic relationship and expression pattern during development and stress

Abstract

The DHHC-cysteine-rich domain S-acyltransferase proteins play essential roles in protein lipid modification, including S-acylation, which is an important secondary and reversible modification that regulates the membrane association, trafficking and function of target proteins. DHHC-cysteine-rich domain S-acyltransferase proteins are involved in plant development and stress responses in Arabidopsis. However, little is currently known about DHHC-cysteine-rich domain S-acyltransferase proteins (OsDHHCs) in rice. Here, 30 DHHC family members were identified in the rice complete genomes, among which seven subfamilies could be classified according to phylogeny, genomic organization and protein topological structure. The evolutionary relationships could be further supported by the intron/exon distribution patterns and motifs outside the DHHC-cysteine-rich domain. Furthermore, the genome distribution of OsDHHCs demonstrated that both genome-wide and tandem duplication contributed to expansion of the DHHC family in rice. Additionally, comprehensive analysis of the expression pattern revealed that several OsDHHCs are induced upon abiotic stress and phytohormone-induced stress, such as salt stress, dehydration stress, cold stress, indole-3-acetic acid exposure and abscise acid exposure, indicating that several OsDHHCs play roles in plant growth and development, as well as in stress responses. Overall, the results of this study will serve as a knowledge basis for further functional analysis of members of the DHHC family in rice.