Systematic Analysis of Tobacco CrRLK1L Family Genes and Functional Identification of in Environmental Stresses.

The RLK1-like (CrRLK1L) family is involved in the regulation of plant reproduction, growth and development, cell wall integrity sensing, as well as responses to both biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Extraordinary progress has been made in elucidating the CrRLK1L family receptor kinases-mediated signaling pathway, while limited research addressed the functions of CrRLK1L proteins in tobacco. In this study, we identified and analyzed 48 NtCrRLK1L members from the tobacco genome. The newly identified NtCrRLK1L members were divided into seven groups together with the CrRLK1L members. The syntenic analysis revealed that four pairs of genes were predicted to have arisen from segmental duplication events. Expression profiling showed that the genes were expressed in various tissues, and most genes were induced by salt and drought stress conditions. Notably, was upregulated under drought and salinity stresses, and the NtCrRLK1L47-GFP fusion protein was located in the cell membrane. Furthermore, overexpression of the gene enhanced the salt tolerance in tobacco seedlings.