Genome-wide identification and analysis of the UBA2 gene family in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Background: RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) participate in multiple aspects of RNA metabolism, which in turn regulates gene expression, thereby involving in organism growth and development. The UBA2 family, one of the subfamilies of RBPs, has been identified in several plant species. However, few researches have been performed to investigate the role of UBA2 in wheat (Triticum aestivum).

Results: In this study, we identified eleven TaUBA2s and divided them into three groups according to their domain characteristics. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted to forecast functional similarities among Arabidopsis, rice, maize and wheat UBA2 genes. Members within the same subfamily of TaUBA2 are relatively conserved in terms of protein structure, motifs, and gene structure. Chromosomal location and synteny analysis suggested that the segmental duplication events played important roles during TaUBA2s evolution. The cis-acting element analysis showed that TaUBA2s were involved in hormone response, development, light response, metabolism, and response to environmental stress. Furthermore, TaUBA2C contains two RNA recognition motifs (RRMs), and the first RRM is responsible for the nuclear speckle formation of TaUBA2C, whereas the two RRMs are necessary for its biological function.

Conclusions: Taken together, our study provides a comprehensive analysis of the TaUBA2 family in wheat and lays the foundation for the future functional investigations of TaUBA2s in wheat growth, development and stress responses.