Genome-Wide Characterization, Evolution, and Expression Profile Analysis of GATA Transcription Factors in Brachypodium distachyon.

Weiye Peng,Wei Li,Yunsheng Wang,Zejun Tang,Liangying Dai,Na Song,Jing Liu,Sujun Pan,Bing Wang

doi:10.3390/ijms22042026

Abstract

The GATA proteins, functioning as transcription factors (TFs), are involved in multiple plant physiological and biochemical processes. In this study, 28 GATA TFs of Brachypodium distachyon (BdGATA) were systematically characterized via whole-genome analysis. BdGATA genes unevenly distribute on five chromosomes of B. distachyon and undergo purifying selection during the evolution process. The putative cis-acting regulatory elements and gene interaction network of BdGATA were found to be associated with hormones and defense responses. Noticeably, the expression profiles measured by quantitative real-time PCR indicated that BdGATA genes were sensitive to methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and salicylic acid (SA) treatment, and 10 of them responded to invasion of the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae, which causes rice blast disease. Genome-wide characterization, evolution, and expression profile analysis of BdGATA genes can open new avenues for uncovering the functions of the GATA genes family in plants and further improve the knowledge of cellular signaling in plant defense.

Highlights

GATA transcription factors (TFs), as important regulatory proteins for gene expression and biological processes, are widely distributed in eukaryotes, including animals, plants, and fungi [1]
In order to analyze the evolutionary diversity of GATA genes, we constructed a comprehensive neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree for the three Gramineae species B. distachyon, rice (Oryza sativa L.), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and the locus names of the GATA genes from these three are listed in Supplementary Table S2
To make the results more intuitive, we have shown the results of BdGATA gene expression after phytohormone treatments as a box–whisker plot containing a median and interquartile range

Summary

Introduction

GATA transcription factors (TFs), as important regulatory proteins for gene expression and biological processes, are widely distributed in eukaryotes, including animals, plants, and fungi [1]. NtGATA1, homologous to the Neurospora crassa nit-2 gene, was the first identified and cloned member of the GATA TFs found in tobacco [3]. GATA TFs were determined and classified into four subfamilies (A to D) on the basis of the evolutionary relationship and structure domains [4]. The exon numbers of these GATA TFs subfamilies are distinct, with two exons in subfamily A, three in subfamily B, seven in subfamily C, and six in subfamily D [5]

Methods

Results

Conclusion