Whole-genome identification and expression characterization of the HSFP gene family of Triticum aestivum under heat and drought stress

IF 4.1 2区生物学 Q2 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Plant Science Pub Date : 2025-09-26 DOI:10.1016/j.plantsci.2025.112780

Qi Wang , Xiangyang Wang , Zhihao Zhang , Zhicheng Wang , Wentao Chen , Xin Hua , Mengke Liu , Zhengchun Li , Julius Mugweru , Zichao Wang , Jinshui Wang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

HSF-type DNA-binding domain-containing proteins (HSFPs) are key transcription factors that regulate plant responses to abiotic stresses, including heat and drought. As a staple crop, Triticum aestivum faces increasing threats from climate change, making it critical to understand the molecular mechanisms of HSFP-mediated stress adaptation. While HSF families have been studied in model plants, systematic analysis of Triticum aestivum HSFP genes, particularly their evolutionary divergence and stress-responsive regulation, remains limited.

Results

Using bioinformatics approaches, we identified 81 non-redundant TaHSFP genes in the Triticum aestivum genome (Triticum aestivum refseqv2.1). These genes are unevenly distributed across all 21 chromosomes, encoding proteins with 227–569 amino acids, isoelectric points (pI) ranging from 4.81 to 9.52, and instability indices of 32.26–71.13. Phylogenetic analysis classified TaHSFP proteins into five distinct evolutionary lineages, showing expanded complexity compared to Arabidopsis and rice. Structural characterization revealed 10 conserved motifs (Motif 1–10) and prevalent bi-exonic (62 genes) or tri-exonic (10 genes) architectures. Promoter regions of TaHSFP genes are enriched with stress-responsive cis-elements (e.g., abscisic acid, drought, and heat shock elements), and subcellular localization predictions indicate 75 proteins target the nucleus, 4 the cytoplasm, and 2 chloroplasts. Expression profiling using transcriptome data and qRT-PCR (3 biological replicates, 2 technical replicates) showed tissue-specific expression, with 37 TaHSFP genes highly expressed in leaves and stems. Under heat (40°C), drought (20 % PEG-6000), and combined stress, 12 TaHSFP genes (e.g., TraesCS7B03G0454600.1, TraesCS5A03G0601000.1) were significantly upregulated (log2FC > 2, p < 0.05), with the highest induction (269-fold) observed for TraesCS7B03G0454600.1 under 1 h heat stress. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis predicted 60 core TaHSFP proteins with 1047 interactions, enriched in heat shock response pathways (GO:0009408).

Conclusions

This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the Triticum aestivum HSFP gene family, revealing their evolutionary and functional diversity. The identified stress-responsive TaHSFP genes and their regulatory motifs offer novel targets for improving Triticum aestivum resilience to climate stress via molecular breeding.

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热干旱胁迫下小麦HSFP基因家族的全基因组鉴定及表达特性研究

背景：hsf型dna结合结构域含蛋白（hsfp）是调控植物对高温和干旱等非生物胁迫反应的关键转录因子。小麦作为一种主粮作物，面临着越来越多的气候变化威胁，因此了解hsfp介导的胁迫适应分子机制至关重要。虽然在模式植物中对HSFP家族进行了研究，但对小麦HSFP基因的系统分析，特别是其进化分化和应激反应调控仍然有限。结果：利用生物信息学方法，我们在小麦基因组（Triticum aestivum refseqv2.1）中鉴定出81个非冗余TaHSFP基因。这些基因不均匀分布在21条染色体上，编码的蛋白质含有227 ~ 569个氨基酸，等电点（pI）在4.81 ~ 9.52之间，不稳定性指数为32.26 ~ 71.13。系统发育分析将TaHSFP蛋白划分为五个不同的进化谱系，与拟南芥和水稻相比，显示出更大的复杂性。结构分析揭示了10个保守的Motif （Motif 1-10）和普遍的双外显子（62个基因）或三外显子（10个基因）结构。TaHSFP基因的启动子区域富含应激响应顺式元件（如脱落酸、干旱和热休克元件），亚细胞定位预测表明，有75个蛋白靶向细胞核，4个靶向细胞质，2个靶向叶绿体。利用转录组数据和qRT-PCR进行表达谱分析（3个生物重复，2个技术重复），发现37个TaHSFP基因在叶片和茎中高表达。在高温（40°C）、干旱（20% PEG-6000）和综合胁迫下，12个TaHSFP基因（如TraesCS7B03G0454600.1、TraesCS5A03G0601000.1）显著上调（log2FC bbb2.0, p < 0.05），其中TraesCS7B03G0454600.1在1h热胁迫下的诱导量最高，达到了69倍。蛋白-蛋白相互作用（PPI）网络分析预测60个核心TaHSFP蛋白具有1047个相互作用，富集于热休克反应途径（GO:0009408）。结论：本研究首次对小麦HSFP基因家族进行了全面分析，揭示了其进化和功能多样性。已鉴定的胁迫响应TaHSFP基因及其调控基序为通过分子育种提高小麦对气候胁迫的适应能力提供了新的靶点。

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来源期刊

Plant Science 生物-生化与分子生物学

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

1.90%

发文量

322

审稿时长

33 days

期刊介绍： Plant Science will publish in the minimum of time, research manuscripts as well as commissioned reviews and commentaries recommended by its referees in all areas of experimental plant biology with emphasis in the broad areas of genomics, proteomics, biochemistry (including enzymology), physiology, cell biology, development, genetics, functional plant breeding, systems biology and the interaction of plants with the environment. Manuscripts for full consideration should be written concisely and essentially as a final report. The main criterion for publication is that the manuscript must contain original and significant insights that lead to a better understanding of fundamental plant biology. Papers centering on plant cell culture should be of interest to a wide audience and methods employed result in a substantial improvement over existing established techniques and approaches. Methods papers are welcome only when the technique(s) described is novel or provides a major advancement of established protocols.