Aug 2026· Biology· Vol 15· 0 citations· 83 references
Medicine
TL;DR
A systematic analysis of the MtPLATZ gene family in M. truncatula is provided, offering a valuable reference for functional studies and genetic improvement of stress tolerance in legumes.
Abstract
Simple Summary PLATZ transcription factors are a plant-specific family of zinc finger proteins that play important roles in regulating plant growth, development, and abiotic stress responses. In the legume model plant Medicago truncatula, the PLATZ gene family has not been systematically characterized. In this study, a total of 16 MtPLATZ genes were identified in the M. truncatula genome and classified into four distinct subgroups based on phylogenetic analysis. This family includes five segmental duplication pairs and one tandem duplication pair, all of which have Ka/Ks ratios less than 1, indicating that MtPLATZ genes have experienced strong purifying selection during evolution. Cis-acting element analysis revealed that the promoter regions of MtPLATZ genes contain multiple stress-responsive and hormone-responsive elements, suggesting their potential extensive involvement in environmental adaptation. Preliminary expression profiling under various abiotic stresses, including PEG-induced osmotic stress, acute NaCl shock, acute heat shock, and acute cold shock, demonstrated that MtPLATZ genes exhibit treatment-specific and time-dependent expression patterns, indicating that they may have functional divergence. This study provides a systematic analysis of the MtPLATZ gene family in M. truncatula, offering a valuable reference for functional studies and genetic improvement of stress tolerance in legumes.
It is demonstrated that heterologous expression of TksPLATZ1, TksPLATZ2 and TksPLATZ7 localize to the cell nucleus and act as transcriptional activators and repressors, respectively, which enhances the tolerance of Arabidopsis to salt and osmotic stress.
Jinxian Chen, Wenhao Wu, Ming-Hua Luo et al.· Phytochemistry· 0 citations
SUMOylation is a well-conserved post-translational modification that is essential for modulating plant adaptation to various abiotic stresses. Although the functions of small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) genes have been reported in various plant species, systematic studies focusing on the SUMO gene family members in alfalfa remain limited. In this study, we identified 49 MsSUMO genes from the alfalfa genome using bioinformatics approaches, and conducted comprehensive analyses of their phylogenetic relationships, structural features, cis-regulatory elements, and expression patterns. Most MsSUMO genes were predicted to localize in the nucleus and cytoplasm, consistent with their roles in transcriptional regulation and protein modification. Phylogenetic analysis grouped MsSUMO, soybean and Arabidopsis SUMO genes into seven subfamilies, which exhibited both high homology and species-specific divergence, suggesting functional differentiation during evolution. Conserved motif and domain analyses revealed strong structural consistency among MsSUMO members, with relatively simple gene architectures. In total, 59 types of cis-elements were detected in the promoter regions, playing crucial roles in plant growth, light signaling, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Abscisic acid-responsive elements (ABREs) were the most abundant, implying that this gene family may serve key functions in stress regulation via the abscisic acid (ABA) signal pathway. Protein interaction network analysis indicated that MsSUMO members cooperate with core enzymes to modulate downstream stress-responsive targets. Transcriptome and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) results showed that eight MsSUMO genes exhibited significant expression responses to salt, drought, and waterlogging stresses. Remarkably, six genes consistently exhibited upregulation across all three stress conditions. This observation underscores their potential as pivotal players in abiotic stress tolerance and identifies them as promising candidates for subsequent functional characterization.
Ting Wang, Yupeng Guo, Yi Xu et al.· PeerJ· 0 citations
Nuclear Factor Y, subunit A (NFYA) constitutes a family of transcription factors that play critical roles in plant growth, development and abiotic stress responses. Taxodium hybrid ‘Zhongshanshan’ (T. mucronatum × T. distichum) is a fast-growing tree species with high industrial value and remarkable flooding tolerance. However, the systematic characteristics and abiotic stress response patterns of the ThNFYA gene family remain unclear. In this study, a total of 11 ThNFYA genes were identified. The encoded proteins ranged from 67 to 372 amino acids in length, with predicted molecular weights between 16.84 and 40.12 kDa. Phylogenetic analysis classified plant NFYAs into four clades, with all ThNFYAs falling into clades I and IV. Expression profiling revealed tissue-specific patterns, with six members showing the highest transcript levels in the cambium. Multiple cis-acting elements associated with stress and hormone responses were detected in the promoter regions of ThNFYAs. Most ThNFYAs were differentially regulated under salt, drought, and flooding stresses. Notably, most clade IV members (ThNFYA3, ThNFYA4, and ThNFYA6-ThNFYA8) were downregulated in the wood under partial submergence. This indicates their potential role in modifying wood properties in response to flooding. Co-expression network analysis identified ThNFYA1 and ThNFYA8 as central hub genes in leaves under partial submergence. Overall, these results suggest that the ThNFYA family may serve as candidate regulators of development and stress adaptation in T. hybrid ‘Zhongshanshan’. This study provides valuable insights for further functional verification of ThNFYAs and lays a foundation for marker-assisted breeding of stress-tolerant varieties.
Auxin is a central phytohormone involved in regulating plant growth, development, and stress responses, with the
Aux/IAA
gene family functioning as an essential component of the auxin signaling pathway. To elucidate the genomic features and potential functions of the
Aux/IAA
gene family in pumpkin (
Cucurbita moschata
), we performed a genome-wide identification and systematic characterization.
A total of 72
CmIAA
genes were identified, encoding proteins ranging from 158 to 1275 amino acids with predicted isoelectric points of 4.57–9.81. These genes were unevenly distributed across 20 chromosomes, with Chr17 harboring the highest number, while no
CmIAA
genes were detected on Chr3. Phylogenetic analysis classified the genes into nine subgroups (Groups Ⅰ–Ⅸ), with Groups Ⅰ, Ⅵ, and Ⅸ exhibiting relative expansion. Gene structure and conserved motif analyses revealed subgroup-specific motif compositions, with motif 1 representing the core conserved domain. Intraspecific collinearity analysis identified 54 segmentally duplicated gene pairs but no tandem duplication events, whereas interspecific synteny revealed extensive orthologous relationships between pumpkin and
Cucurbita pepo
and
Cucurbita maxima
. Promoter analysis showed that
CmIAA
genes contain multiple cis-elements associated with hormone responses and abiotic stress responses, including ABRE, MBS, and DRE. Tissue expression analysis demonstrated that many
CmIAA
genes exhibited tissue-preferential expression patterns. Under abiotic stress conditions,
CmIAA
69 showed a salt-specific expression pattern, whereas
CmIAA
39 and
CmIAA
58 responded to both salt and drought treatments, indicating that these
CmIAA
genes play distinct roles in pumpkin responses to different abiotic stresses.
This study systematically characterized the
Aux/IAA
gene family in pumpkin, highlighting its evolutionary diversity, structural conservation, and distinct regulatory features. These findings provide valuable genetic resources for further functional studies and inform the potential roles of
CmIAA
genes in abiotic stress responses.
This study elucidates the evolutionary conservation and functional diversity of the eggplant GATA family, providing valuable candidate genes for future functional research and stress-tolerant molecular breeding in eggplant.
Yang Huang, Li Jia, Kunyu Ma et al.· Horticulturae· 0 citations
An extensive genome-wide study of the DUF668 gene family in potato demonstrated that StDUF668s play a role in crucial biological processes, involving abiotic and biotic stress responses, and provided a valuable resource for future research aimed at improving potato stress tolerance and growth.
Aiana Gill, Tanvi Mongia, Garima Kakkar et al.· Journal of Applied Genetics· 0 citations
