Genome-wide identification and transcriptome profiling reveal great expansion of SWEET gene family and their wide-spread responses to abiotic stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

The Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporter (SWEET) gene family, identified as sugar transporters, has been demonstrated to play key roles in phloem loading, grain filling, pollen nutrition, and plant-pathogen interactions. To date, the study of SWEET genes in response to abiotic stress is very limited. In this study, we performed a genome-wide identification of the SWEET gene family in wheat and examined their expression profiles under mutiple abiotic stresses. We identified a total of 105 wheat SWEET genes, and phylogenic analysis revealed that they fall into five clades, with clade V specific to wheat and its closely related species. Of the 105 wheat SWEET genes, 59% exhibited significant expression changes after stress treatments, including drought, heat, heat combined with drought, and salt stresses, and more up-regulated genes were found in response to drought and salt stresses. Further hierarchical clustering analysis revealed that SWEET genes exhibited differential expression patterns in response to different stress treatments or in different wheat cultivars. Moreover, different phylogenetic clades also showed distinct response to abiotic stress treatments. Finally, we found that homoeologous SWEET genes from different wheat subgenomes exhibited differential expression patterns in response to different abiotic stress treatments. The genome-wide analysis revealed the great expansion of SWEET gene family in wheat and their wide participation in abiotic stress response. The expression partitioning of SWEET homoeologs under abiotic stress conditions may confer greater flexibility for hexaploid wheat to adapt to ever changing environments.