Genome-wide identification of NAC transcription factors in Acer paxii, and their expression dynamics during leaf aging.

Abstract

Background: The NAC family (consisting of NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) represents a crucial plant-specific transcription factor family, contributing significantly to various aspects of plant growth, development, and reactions to abiotic stresses. Yet, the underlying mechanism of NAC regulation in Acer paxii has not been discussed.

Objectives: Identification of NAC genes (ApNACs) in the genome of Acer paxii and exploring the regulatory network of NACs in mediating leaf senescence.

Methods: A thorough genome-wide analysis of the NAC gene family in the Acer paxii genome was performed.

Results: We identified 117 ApNACs from the Acer paxii genome database, which were irregularly distributed across 13 chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that ApNAC genes were partitioned into 16 subgroups. There are four kinds of cis-regulatory elements in the promoter region of the ApNACs gene. We compared the expression levels of ApNAC genes at different times using transcriptome data and selected six ApNAC genes for qRT-PCR, which the results showed basic consistency with the transcriptome results. Six ApNACs and 187 TFs from different families were selected, and it was found that the TF families with the highest correlation were WRKY, MYB, bZIP, and ERF, and these TF families were reported to participate in the regulation function in senescence.

Conclusion: This study provides important data support for identifying the NAC gene family of Acer paxii and the regulatory function of the ApNAC genes on plant senescence, which will help to understand the NAC-mediated regulatory network in Acer paxii.