Abstract
Plant-specific NAC (NAM, ATAF, CUC) transcription factor (TF) family plays important roles in biological processes such as plant growth and response to stress. Nevertheless, no information is known about NAC TFs in Cleistogenes songorica, a prominent xerophyte desert grass in northwestern China. In this study, 162 NAC genes were found from the Cleistogenes songorica genome, among which 156 C. songorica NAC (CsNAC) genes (96.3%) were mapped onto 20 chromosomes. The phylogenetic tree constructed by CsNAC and rice NAC TFs can be separated into 14 subfamilies. Syntenic and Ka/Ks analyses showed that CsNACs were primarily expanded by genomewide replication events, and purifying selection was the primary force driving the evolution of CsNAC family genes. The CsNAC gene expression profiles showed that 36 CsNAC genes showed differential expression between cleistogamous (CL) and chasmogamous (CH) flowers. One hundred and two CsNAC genes showed differential expression under heat, cold, drought, salt and ABA treatment. Twenty-three CsNAC genes were commonly differentially expressed both under stress responses and during dimorphic floret development. Gene Ontology (GO) annotation, coexpression network and qRT-PCR tests revealed that these CsNAC genes may simultaneously regulate dimorphic floret development and the response to stress. Our results may help to characterize the NAC transcription factors in C. songorica and provide new insights into the functional research and application of the NAC family in crop improvement, especially in dimorphic floret plants.
Highlights
The agricultural yield is affected by environmental factors
The number of NACs identified in C. songorica was similar to rice (151) [39], soybean (152) [40] and
The results indicated that the NAC transcription factor (TF) did not undergo special expansion in
Summary
The agricultural yield is affected by environmental factors. Stress incidents pose huge challenges to global agricultural production, causing many losses every year [1]. Plants may suffer from various environmental stresses at different stages of growth [2]. To survive in these severe environments, plants evolve complex genetic mechanisms that regulate gene expression through accurate transcriptional control and precise signal transduction. Transcription factors (TFs) combine with corresponding cis-acting elements to activate or inhibit the expression of their target genes and are crucial regulatory factors in many signaling networks [3]. TFs are involved in the regulation of many biological processes, including cellular morphogenesis, metabolic process, signal transduction and stress response [4].
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