Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of the OPR Gene Family in Wheat ( L.).

The 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid reductases (OPRs), which belong to the old yellow enzyme (OYE) family, are flavin mononucleotide (FMN)-dependent oxidoreductases with critical functions in plants. Despite the clear characteristics of growth and development, as well as the defense responses in , tomato, rice, and maize, the potential roles of OPRs in wheat are not fully understood. Here, forty-eight putative genes were found and classified into five subfamilies, with 6 in sub. I, 4 in sub. II, 33 in sub. III, 3 in sub. IV, and 2 in sub. V. Similar gene structures and conserved protein motifs of TaOPRs in wheat were identified in the same subfamilies. An analysis of cis-acting elements in promoters revealed that the functions of OPRs in wheat were mostly related to growth, development, hormones, biotic, and abiotic stresses. A total of 14 wheat genes were identified as tandem duplicated genes, while 37 genes were segmentally duplicated genes. The expression patterns of TaOPRs were tissue- and stress-specific, and the expression of TaOPRs could be regulated or induced by phytohormones and various stresses. Therefore, there were multiple wheat genes, classified into five subfamilies, with functional diversification and specific expression patterns, and to our knowledge, this was the first study to systematically investigate the wheat gene family. The findings not only provide a scientific foundation for the comprehensive understanding of the wheat gene family, but could also be helpful for screening more candidate genes and breeding new varieties of wheat, with a high yield and stress resistance.