WRKY transcription factors modulate flowering time in four Arachis species: a bioinformatics analysis.

BACKGROUND: WRKY proteins are important transcription factors (TFs) in plants, involved in growth and development and responses to environmental changes. Although WRKY TFs have been studied at the genome level in Arachis genus, including oil crop and turfgrass, their regulatory networks in controlling flowering time remain unclear. The aim of this study was to predict the molecular mechanisms of WRKY TFs regulation flowering time in Arachis genus at the genome level using bioinformatics approaches. RESULTS: The flowering-time genes of Arachis genus were retrieved from the flowering-time gene database. The regulatory networks between WRKY TFs and downstream genes in Arachis genus were predicted using bioinformatics tools. The results showed that WRKY TFs were involved in aging, autonomous, circadian clock, hormone, photoperiod, sugar, temperature, and vernalization pathways to modulate flowering time in Arachis duranensis, Arachis ipaensis, Arachis monticola, and Arachis hypogaea cv. Tifrunner. The WRKY TF binding sites in homologous flowering-time genes exhibited asymmetric evolutionary pattern, indicating that the WRKY TFs interact with other transcription factors to modulate flowering time in the four Arachis species. Protein interaction network analysis showed that WRKY TFs interacted with FRUITFULL and APETALA2 to modulate flowering time in the four Arachis species. WRKY TFs implicated in regulating flowering time had low expression levels, whereas their interaction proteins had varying expression patterns in 22 tissues of A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner. These results indicate that WRKY TFs exhibit antagonistic or synergistic interactions with the associated proteins. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals complex regulatory networks through which WRKY TFs modulate flowering time in the four Arachis species using bioinformatics approaches.

WRKY transcription factors in Arachis hypogaea and its donors: From identification to function prediction.

WRKY transcription factors (TFs) play important roles in plant growth and development and responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. Since the initial isolation of a WRKY TF in Ipomoea batatas in 1994, WRKY TFs have been identified in plants, protozoa, and fungi. Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is a key oil and protein crop for humans and a forage source for animal consumption. Several Arachis genomes have been sequenced and genome-wide WRKY TFs have been identified. In this review, we summarized WRKY TFs and their functions in A. hypogaea and its donors. We also standardized the nomenclature for Arachis WRKY TFs to ensure uniformity. We determined the evolutionary relationships between Arachis and Arabidopsis thaliana WRKY (AtWRKY) TFs using a phylogenetic analysis. Biological functions and regulatory networks of Arachis WRKY TFs were predicted using AtWRKY TFs. Thus, this review paves the way for studies of Arachis WRKY TFs.

Deciphering evolutionary dynamics of WRKY genes in Arachis species.

BACKGROUND: Cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea), a progeny of the cross between A. duranensis and A. ipaensis, is an important oil and protein crop from South America. To date, at least six Arachis genomes have been sequenced. WRKY transcription factors (TFs) play crucial roles in plant growth, development, and response to abiotic and biotic stresses. WRKY TFs have been identified in A. duranensis, A. ipaensis, and A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner; however, variations in their number and evolutionary patterns across various Arachis spp. remain unclear. RESULTS: WRKY TFs were identified and compared across different Arachis species, including A. duranensis, A. ipaensis, A. monticola, A. hypogaea cultivars (cv.) Fuhuasheng, A. hypogaea cv. Shitouqi, and A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner. The results showed that the WRKY TFs underwent dynamic equilibrium between diploid and tetraploid peanut species, characterized by the loss of old WRKY TFs and retention of the new ones. Notably, cultivated peanuts inherited more conserved WRKY orthologs from wild tetraploid peanuts than their wild diploid donors. Analysis of the W-box elements and protein-protein interactions revealed that different domestication processes affected WRKY evolution across cultivated peanut varieties. WRKY TFs of A. hypogaea cv. Fuhuasheng and Shitouqi exhibited a similar domestication process, while those of cv. Tifrunner of the same species underwent a different domestication process based on protein-protein interaction analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides new insights into the evolution of WRKY TFs in Arachis spp.

Relationship Between Physical Activity, Parental Psychological Control, Basic Psychological Needs, Anxiety, and Mental Health in Chinese Engineering College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The issue of mental health among college students is of increasing concern during the COVID-19 outbreak. Since course characteristics of engineering college students determine the particularities of their mental health, the specific objectives of this study were: (1) to analyze the relationship between physical activity, parental psychological control, basic psychological needs, anxiety, and mental health in Chinese engineering college students during COVID-19 pandemic; and (2) to examine the mediation effect of anxiety between the relationship of basic psychological needs and mental health. A cross-sectional study was conducted among several universities in Shandong Province, China. We randomly selected 254 Chinese engineering college students from these colleges. Participants who were given questionnaires completed the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), Basic Needs Satisfaction in General Scale (BNSG-S), Parental psychological control Questionnaire, the Beck anxiety inventory (BAI), and the Kessler 10 (K10) scale. The mediation model was conducted to assess the mediation effect of anxiety between the relationship of basic psychological needs and mental health. Among 254 Chinese college students majoring in engineering, the results showed that their mental health was in the mid-level range. Besides, physical activity and basic psychological needs is positively correlated with mental health, respectively, while parental psychological control is not correlated with mental health. Anxiety is negatively associated with mental health. Mediation analysis revealed that anxiety played a mediation role in the relationship between basic psychological needs and mental health. In conclusion, mental health of Chinese engineering college students deserves extensive attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proper intervention on physical activity, basic psychological needs, and anxiety may be beneficial to improve their mental health. In addition, meeting basic psychological needs is beneficial to reduce anxiety and improve mental health further.