Abstract
CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) have been shown to regulate a variety of environmental stress-related signalling pathways in plants. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv) is known worldwide as a relatively stress-tolerant C4 crop species. Although the foxtail millet genome sequence has been released, little is known about the functions of CIPKs in foxtail millet. Therefore, a systematic genome-wide analysis of CIPK genes in foxtail millet was performed. In total, 35 CIPK members were identified in foxtail millet and divided into four subgroups (I to IV) on the basis of their phylogenetic relationships. Phylogenetic and gene structure analyses clearly divided all SiCIPKs into intron-poor and intron-rich clades. Cis-element analysis subsequently indicated that these SiCIPKs may be involved in responses to abiotic stimuli, hormones, and light signalling during plant growth and development, and stress-induced expression profile analysis revealed that all the SiCIPKs are involved in various stress signalling pathways. These results suggest that the CIPK genes in foxtail millet exhibit the basic characteristics of CIPK family members and play important roles in response to abiotic stresses. The results of this study will contribute to future functional characterization of abiotic stress responses mediated by CIPKs in foxtail millet.
Highlights
It is well known that abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity and low temperature severely affect the yield and quality of crops
35 SiCIPK genes were identified in foxtail millet, a C4 Gramineae crop species known for its outstanding stress tolerance
Our systematic analysis revealed that SiCIPKs have basic characteristics similar to those of CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) family members identified from other plant species, and we found that SiCIPK genes play important roles in stress responses
Summary
It is well known that abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity and low temperature severely affect the yield and quality of crops. To cope with such adverse conditions, plants have developed elaborate and systematic mechanisms during their evolution [1]. Many CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) are involved in the response and adaptation to stresses [2]. The genes encoding these serine/threonine protein kinases constitute an important, widespread multigene family in the plant kingdom [3]. A highly conserved 24-amino acid region within the C-terminal regulatory domain of CIPK designated as the NAF domain (Pfam No PF03822) is required for interaction with CBLs during exposure to stress [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
