Abstract
WRKY transcription factors play pivotal roles in regulation of stress responses. This study identified 79 WRKY genes in potato (Solanum tuberosum). Based on multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic relationships, WRKY genes were classified into three major groups. The majority of WRKY genes belonged to Group II (52 StWRKYs), Group III had 14 and Group I consisted of 13. The phylogenetic tree further classified Group II into five sub-groups. All StWRKY genes except StWRKY79 were mapped on potato chromosomes, with eight tandem duplication gene pairs and seven segmental duplication gene pairs found from StWRKY family genes. The expression analysis of 22 StWRKYs showed their differential expression levels under various stress conditions. Cis-element prediction showed that a large number of elements related to drought, heat and salicylic acid were present in the promotor regions of StWRKY genes. The expression analysis indicated that seven StWRKYs seemed to respond to stress (heat, drought and salinity) and salicylic acid treatment. These genes are candidates for abiotic stress signaling for further research.
Highlights
Transcription factors (TFs) participate in gene transcription regulatory networks that regulate gene expression in plants
The WRKY domain is a highly conserved sequence of 60 amino acids [3], heptapeptide WRKYGQK which has WRKYGKK, WKKYGQK, WRKYGQR, WRKYGEK and some other forms [4, 5], and a zinc finger structure. which is itself divided into two types, C2H2 and C2HC [6]
The majority of sequences were located on chromosomes, and only one of the StWRKY genes, StWRKY79 was not located in any chromosome according to the data from the internet
Summary
Transcription factors (TFs) participate in gene transcription regulatory networks that regulate gene expression in plants. A large number of genes encode TFs[1]. The WRKY TF family, named because of containing the WRKY domain, exists widely in many organisms [2]. Which is itself divided into two types, C2H2 and C2HC [6]. According to the number of WRKY domains and the type of zinc finger, the WRKY family is divided into three main groups [7]. Group I contains two WRKY domains located in the C- and N-terminus, respectively. Groups I and II have the C2H2-type zinc finger, and only Group III has the C2HC-type. In Arabidopsis thaliana, Group II genes are divided into five sub-groups: II-a, II-b, II-c, II-d and II [8]
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