Identification and Expression Analysis of Soybean (Glycine max L.) Dynamin Genes Reveal Their Involvements in Plant Development and Stress Response

Dynamin and dynamin-related proteins (DRPs) are large GTPases that are vital for cytokinesis, endocytosis and multiple biological processes. However, knowledge of the DRP gene family in soybean (Glycine max L.), an important leguminous crop plant, is still limited. In this study, 31 GmDRPs were identified from soybean genome, and were classified into five groups based on phylogenetic analysis. We observed that each group displayed specific conserved domain distribution and exon–intron structures. Collinearity analysis indicated that gene duplication events contribute largely to the expansion of GmDRP family. According to functional annotation, soybean dynamins were found implicated in cell division, endocytosis, and mitochondrion/peroxisome fission in GTP-dependent manner. Promoter analysis implied the potential roles of GmDRPs in mediating developmental processes, plant hormone signaling, and stress responses. Based on RNA-seq data, some of the GmDRPs were found ubiquitously expressed in various tissues/organs, some were barely expressed, while some showed obvious tissue/organ-preference. The expression analysis also revealed the involvement of GmDRPs in cold and/or drought stress response. In sum, we performed a systematic analysis of soybean dynamin family and our results provide a foundation for further researches on their functional roles.