Genome-wide analysis of proline-rich extensin-like receptor kinases (PERKs) gene family reveals their roles in plant development and stress conditions in Oryza sativa L.

Proline-rich extensin-like receptor kinases (PERKs) play a crucial role in a wide range of biological processes in plants. In model plants like Arabidopsis, the PERK gene family has been well investigated. Conversely, no information available on the PERK gene family and their biological functions largely remained unknown in rice. This study analyzed the basic physicochemical properties, phylogeny, gene structure, cis-acting elements, Gene ontology (GO) annotation and protein-protein interaction of OsPERK gene family members using various bioinformatics tools based on the whole-genome data of O. sativa. Thus, in this work, 8 PERK genes in rice were identified, and their roles in plant development, growth, and response to various stresses were studied. A phylogenetic study revealed that OsPERKs are grouped into seven classes. Chromosomal mapping also displayed that 8 PERK genes were unevenly distributed on 12 chromosomes. Further, the prediction of subcellular localization indicated that OsPERKs were mainly located at the endomembrane system. Gene structure analysis of OsPERKs has shown a distinctive evolutionary path. In addition, synteny analysis exhibited the 40 orthologous gene pairs in Arabidopsis thaliana, Triticum aestivum, Hordeum vulgare and Medicago truncatula. Furthermore, Ka to Ks proportion shows that most OsPERK genes experienced resilient purifying selection during evolutionary processes. The OsPERK promoters contained several cis-acting regulatory, which are crucial for plant development processes, phytohormone signaling, stress, and defense response. Moreover, the expression pattern of OsPERK family members showed differential expression patterns in different tissues and various stress conditions. Taken together, these results provide clear messages for a better understanding the roles of OsPERK genes in various development stages, tissues, and multifactorial stress as well as enriched the related research of OsPERK family members in rice.

Regulation of Reactive Oxygen Species during Salt Stress in Plants and Their Crosstalk with Other Signaling Molecules-Current Perspectives and Future Directions.

Salt stress is a severe type of environmental stress. It adversely affects agricultural production worldwide. The overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is the most frequent phenomenon during salt stress. ROS are extremely reactive and, in high amounts, noxious, leading to destructive processes and causing cellular damage. However, at lower concentrations, ROS function as secondary messengers, playing a critical role as signaling molecules, ensuring regulation of growth and adjustment to multifactorial stresses. Plants contain several enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants that can detoxify ROS. The production of ROS and their scavenging are important aspects of the plant's normal response to adverse conditions. Recently, this field has attracted immense attention from plant scientists; however, ROS-induced signaling pathways during salt stress remain largely unknown. In this review, we will discuss the critical role of different antioxidants in salt stress tolerance. We also summarize the recent advances on the detrimental effects of ROS, on the antioxidant machinery scavenging ROS under salt stress, and on the crosstalk between ROS and other various signaling molecules, including nitric oxide, hydrogen sulfide, calcium, and phytohormones. Moreover, the utilization of "-omic" approaches to improve the ROS-regulating antioxidant system during the adaptation process to salt stress is also described.

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Profiling of Aconitase Gene Family Members Reveals Their Roles in Plant Development and Adaptation to Diverse Stress in Triticum aestivum L.

Global warming is a serious threat to food security and severely affects plant growth, developmental processes, and, eventually, crop productivity. Respiratory metabolism plays a critical role in the adaptation of diverse stress in plants. Aconitase (ACO) is the main enzyme, which catalyzes the revocable isomerization of citrate to isocitrate in the Krebs cycle. The function of ACO gene family members has been extensively studied in model plants, for instance Arabidopsis. However, their role in plant developmental processes and various stress conditions largely remained unknown in other plant species. Thus, we identified 15 ACO genes in wheat to elucidate their function in plant developmental processes and different stress environments. The phylogenetic tree revealed that TaACO genes were classified into six groups. Further, gene structure analysis of TaACOs has shown a distinctive evolutionary path. Synteny analysis showed the 84 orthologous gene pairs in Brachypodium distachyon, Aegilops tauschii, Triticum dicoccoides, Oryza sativa, and Arabidopsis thaliana. Furthermore, Ka/Ks ratio revealed that most TaACO genes experienced strong purifying selection during evolution. Numerous cis-acting regulatory elements were detected in the TaACO promoters, which play a crucial role in plant development processes, phytohormone signaling, and are related to defense and stress. To understand the function of TaACO genes, the expression profiling of TaACO genes were investigated in different tissues, developmental stages, and stress conditions. The transcript per million values of TaACOs genes were retrieved from the Wheat Expression Browser Database. We noticed the differential expression of the TaACO genes in different tissues and various stress conditions. Moreover, gene ontology analysis has shown enrichment in the tricarboxylic acid metabolic process (GO:0072350), citrate metabolic process (GO:0006101), isocitrate metabolic process GO:0006102, carbohydrate metabolic (GO:0005975), and glyoxylate metabolic process (GO:0046487). Therefore, this study provided valuable insight into the ACO gene family in wheat and contributed to the further functional characterization of TaACO during different plant development processes and various stress conditions.

Genome-Wide Analysis and Characterization of the Proline-Rich Extensin-like Receptor Kinases (PERKs) Gene Family Reveals Their Role in Different Developmental Stages and Stress Conditions in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Proline-rich extensin-like receptor kinases (PERKs) are a class of receptor kinases implicated in multiple cellular processes in plants. However, there is a lack of information on the PERK gene family in wheat. Therefore, we identified 37 PERK genes in wheat to understand their role in various developmental processes and stress conditions. Phylogenetic analysis of PERK genes from Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Glycine max, and T. aestivum grouped them into eight well-defined classes. Furthermore, synteny analysis revealed 275 orthologous gene pairs in B. distachyon, Ae. tauschii, T. dicoccoides, O. sativa and A. thaliana. Ka/Ks values showed that most TaPERK genes, except TaPERK1, TaPERK2, TaPERK17, and TaPERK26, underwent strong purifying selection during evolutionary processes. Several cis-acting regulatory elements, essential for plant growth and development and the response to light, phytohormones, and diverse biotic and abiotic stresses, were predicted in the promoter regions of TaPERK genes. In addition, the expression profile of the TaPERK gene family revealed differential expression of TaPERK genes in various tissues and developmental stages. Furthermore, TaPERK gene expression was induced by various biotic and abiotic stresses. The RT-qPCR analysis also revealed similar results with slight variation. Therefore, this study's outcome provides valuable information for elucidating the precise functions of TaPERK in developmental processes and diverse stress conditions in wheat.

Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of the Brassinazole-resistant (BZR) Gene Family and Its Expression in the Various Developmental Stage and Stress Conditions in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Brassinosteroids (BRs) play crucial roles in various biological processes, including plant developmental processes and response to diverse biotic and abiotic stresses. However, no information is currently available about this gene family in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In the present investigation, we identified the BZR gene family in wheat to understand the evolution and their role in diverse developmental processes and under different stress conditions. In this study, we performed the genome-wide analysis of the BZR gene family in the bread wheat and identified 20 TaBZR genes through a homology search and further characterized them to understand their structure, function, and distribution across various tissues. Phylogenetic analyses lead to the classification of TaBZR genes into five different groups or subfamilies, providing evidence of evolutionary relationship with Arabidopsis thaliana, Zea mays, Glycine max, and Oryza sativa. A gene exon/intron structure analysis showed a distinct evolutionary path and predicted the possible gene duplication events. Further, the physical and biochemical properties, conserved motifs, chromosomal, subcellular localization, and cis-acting regulatory elements were also examined using various computational approaches. In addition, an analysis of public RNA-seq data also shows that TaBZR genes may be involved in diverse developmental processes and stress tolerance mechanisms. Moreover, qRT-PCR results also showed similar expression with slight variation. Collectively, these results suggest that TaBZR genes might play an important role in plant developmental processes and various stress conditions. Therefore, this work provides valuable information for further elucidate the precise role of BZR family members in wheat.

Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of PIN-FORMED (PIN) Gene Family Reveals Role in Developmental and Various Stress Conditions in Triticum aestivum L.

PIN-FORMED (PIN) genes play a crucial role in regulating polar auxin distribution in diverse developmental processes, including tropic responses, embryogenesis, tissue differentiation, and organogenesis. However, the role of PIN-mediated auxin transport in various plant species is poorly understood. Currently, no information is available about this gene family in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In the present investigation, we identified the PIN gene family in wheat to understand the evolution of PIN-mediated auxin transport and its role in various developmental processes and under different biotic and abiotic stress conditions. In this study, we performed genome-wide analysis of the PIN gene family in common wheat and identified 44 TaPIN genes through a homology search, further characterizing them to understand their structure, function, and distribution across various tissues. Phylogenetic analyses led to the classification of TaPIN genes into seven different groups, providing evidence of an evolutionary relationship with Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa. A gene exon/intron structure analysis showed a distinct evolutionary path and predicted the possible gene duplication events. Further, the physical and biochemical properties, conserved motifs, chromosomal, subcellular localization, transmembrane domains, and three-dimensional (3D) structure were also examined using various computational approaches. Cis-elements analysis of TaPIN genes showed that TaPIN promoters consist of phytohormone, plant growth and development, and stress-related cis-elements. In addition, expression profile analysis also revealed that the expression patterns of the TaPIN genes were different in different tissues and developmental stages. Several members of the TaPIN family were induced during biotic and abiotic stress. Moreover, the expression patterns of TaPIN genes were verified by qRT-PCR. The qRT-PCR results also show a similar expression with slight variation. Therefore, the outcome of this study provides basic genomic information on the expression of the TaPIN gene family and will pave the way for dissecting the precise role of TaPINs in plant developmental processes and different stress conditions.