Abstract
The WOX family is a group of plant-specific transcription factors which regulate plant growth and development, cell division and differentiation. From the available genome sequence databases of nine Triticeae species, 199 putative WOX genes were identified. Most of the identified WOX genes were distributed on the chromosomes of homeologous groups 1 to 5 and originated via the orthologous evolution approach. Parts of WOX genes in Triticum aestivum were confirmed by the specific PCR markers using a set of Triticum. durum-T. aestivum genome D substitution lines. All of these identified WOX proteins could be grouped into three clades, similar to those in rice and Arabidopsis. WOX family members were conserved among these Triticeae plants; all of them contained the HOX DNA-binding homeodomain, and WUS clade members contained the characteristic WUS-box motif, while only WUS and WOX9 contained the EAR motif. The RNA-seq and qPCR analysis revealed that the TaWOX genes had tissue-specific expression feature. From the expression patterns of TaWOX genes during immature embryo callus production, TaWOX9 is likely closely related with the regulation of regeneration process in T. aestivum. The findings in this study could provide a basis for evolution and functional investigation and practical application of the WOX family genes in Triticeae species.
Highlights
The Triticeae tribe belongs to the Poaceae family and is made up of more than 350 plant species in 35 genera [1]
We found the homoeologous fragments of TaWUSa on chromosomes 2B and 2D in T. aestivum (Table 1), 2H in H. vulgare (Table 2), 2A, 2C and 2D in A. sativa (Table 4), 2E in T. elongatum (Table 5), 2D in A. tauschii (Table S2), 2A and 2B in T. dicoccoides and T. turgidum (Tables S3 and S4), 2A in T. urartu (Table S5), and chromosome 2 in S. cereale (Table 3)
We identified 43 putative WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX (WOX) gene copies in the genome of T. aestivum, 42 of which were consistent with the result reported by Li et al [56], and a new locus of TaWOX8 was added to the results of TaWOX family
Summary
The Triticeae tribe belongs to the Poaceae family and is made up of more than 350 plant species in 35 genera [1]. In Triticeae plants, 111 annual species in 19 genera such as Triticum aestivum (bread wheat), Hordeum vulgare (barley), Secale cereale (rye), Avena sativa (Oat), Triticum urartu, Triticum dicoccoides, Triticum turgidum, and so on, have been cultivated as crops, which provide necessary nutrition for more than two billion people in the world [1,2]. The application of modern biotechnology tools such as transgene and gene editing in plant breeding can help us to increase yield, improve quality, and enhance biotic or abiotic resistance of major crops, but the realization of these aims depends on genetic transformation. The ability of regenerating new plantlets from in vitro tissues is an obstacle that restricts the application of genetic transformation and gene editing systems [4,5]
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