Identification of YABBY Transcription Factors and Their Function in ABA and Salinity Response in .

The plant-specific transcription factor family YABBY plays important roles in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Although the function of YABBY has been identified in many species, systematic analysis in lotus () is still relatively lacking. The present study aimed to characterize all of the genes in lotus and obtain better insights into in response to salt stress by depending on ABA signaling. Here, we identified nine genes by searching the whole lotus genome based on the conserved YABBY domain. Further analysis showed that these members were distributed on six different chromosomes and named from to , which were divided into five subgroups, including YAB1, YAB2, YAB5, INO, and CRC. The analysis of -elements in promotors revealed that could be involved in plant hormone signaling and plant responses to abiotic stresses. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) showed that could be up-regulated or down-regulated by ABA, fluridone, and salt treatment. Subcellular localization indicated that NnYABBY4, NnYABBY5, and NnYABBY6 were mainly localized in the cell membrane and cytoplasm. In addition, the intrinsic -activity of NnYABBY was tested by a Y2H assay, which revealed that NnYABBY4, NnYABBY5, and NnYABBY6 are deprived of such a property. This study provided a theoretical basis and reference for the functional research of YABBY for the molecular breeding of lotus.