Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of P-Type Plasma Membrane H-ATPase Sub-Gene Family in Sunflower and the Role of and in the Development of Salt Stress Resistance.

The P-type plasma membrane (PM) H-ATPase plays a major role during the growth and development of a plant. It is also involved in plant resistance to a variety of biotic and abiotic factors, including salt stress. The PM H-ATPase gene family has been well characterized in and other crop plants such as rice, cucumber, and potato; however, the same cannot be said in sunflower (). In this study, a total of thirteen PM H-ATPase genes were screened from the recently released sunflower genome database with a comprehensive genome-wide analysis. According to a systematic phylogenetic classification with a previously reported species, the sunflower PM H-ATPase genes () were divided into four sub-clusters (I, II, IV, and V). In addition, systematic bioinformatics analyses such as gene structure analysis, chromosome location analysis, subcellular localization predication, conserved motifs, and -acting elements of promoter identification were also done. Semi-quantitative PCR analysis data of in different sunflower tissues revealed the specificity of gene spatiotemporal expression and sub-cluster grouping. Those belonging to sub-cluster I and II exhibited wide expression in almost all of the tissues studied while sub-cluster IV and V seldom showed expression. In addition, the expression of , and was shown to be induced by salt stress. The transgenic plants overexpressing and showed higher salinity tolerance compared with wild-type plants. Further analysis showed that the Na content of transgenic plants decreased under salt stress, which indicates that PM H ATPase participates in the physiological process of Na efflux, resulting in salt resistance of the plants. This study is the first to identify and analyze the sunflower PM H ATPase gene family. It does not only lay foundation for future research but also demonstrates the role played by in salt stress tolerance.