Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China.
Shandong Provincial Center of Forest and Grass Germplasm Resources, Jinan, China.
PeerJ. 2023 Sep 22;11:e15929. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15929. eCollection 2023.
The heat shock transcription factor (HSF) family is involved in regulating growth, development, and abiotic stress. The characteristics and biological functions of family member in , an important oil and ornamental plant, have never been reported. In this study, 21 genes were identified from the genome of and named - based on their chromosomal positions. Those genes were divided into three groups, A, B, and C, containing 12, one, and eight genes, respectively. Among them, 20 genes are located on 11 chromosomes. Protein structure analysis suggested that XsHSF proteins were conserved, displaying typical DNA binding domains (DBD) and oligomerization domains (OD). Moreover, HSF proteins within the same group contain specific motifs, such as motif 5 in the HSFC group. All genes have one intron in the CDS region, except which has two introns. Promoter analysis revealed that in addition to defense and stress responsiveness elements, some promoters also contained a MYB binding site and elements involved in multiple hormones responsiveness and anaerobic induction. Duplication analysis revealed that and genes were segmentally duplicated while and genes might have arisen from transposition. Expression pattern analysis of leaves and roots following salt-alkali treatment using qRT-PCR indicated that five genes were upregulated and one gene was downregulated in leaves upon NaCl treatment suggesting these genes may play important roles in salt response. Additionally, the expression levels of most were decreased in leaves and roots following alkali-induced stress, indicating that those XsHSFs may function as negative regulators in alkali tolerance. MicroRNA target site prediction indicated that 16 of the genes may be regulated by multiple microRNAs, for example might be regulated by miR156, miR394, miR395, miR408, miR7129, and miR854. And miR164 may effect the mRNA levels of XsHSF3 and XsHSF17, XsHSF9 gene may be regulated by miR172. The expression trends of miR172 and miR164 in leaves and roots on salt treatments were opposite to the expression trend of and genes, respectively. Promoter analysis showed that might be involved in light and hormone responses, plant development, as well as abiotic stress responses. Our results thus provide an overview of the HSF family in and lay a foundation for future functional studies to reveal its roles in saline-alkali response.
热休克转录因子（HSF）家族参与调节生长、发育和非生物胁迫。然而， 作为一种重要的油料和观赏植物，其家族成员的特征和生物学功能尚未见报道。本研究从 基因组中鉴定出 21 个基因，并根据其染色体位置命名为 - 。这些基因分为 A、B 和 C 三组，分别包含 12、1 和 8 个基因。其中，20 个基因位于 11 条染色体上。蛋白结构分析表明，XsHSF 蛋白具有保守性，显示出典型的 DNA 结合域（DBD）和寡聚化域（OD）。此外，同一组内的 HSF 蛋白含有特定的基序，如 HSFC 组中的基序 5。所有基因在 CDS 区域都只有一个内含子，除了 有两个内含子。启动子分析表明，除了防御和应激反应元件外，一些启动子还含有 MYB 结合位点和涉及多种激素反应和厌氧诱导的元件。复制分析表明， 和 基因发生了片段复制，而 和 基因可能是转座引起的。qRT-PCR 分析表明，盐胁迫处理后叶片和根系的表达模式发生了变化，其中 5 个 基因在叶片中被上调，1 个 基因被下调，表明这些基因可能在盐胁迫响应中发挥重要作用。此外，大多数 基因在叶片和根系受到碱胁迫后表达水平降低，表明这些 XsHSFs 可能作为碱胁迫耐受的负调节因子发挥作用。miRNA 靶标预测表明，16 个基因可能受到多个 miRNA 的调控，例如 可能受到 miR156、miR394、miR395、miR408、miR7129 和 miR854 的调控。而 miR164 可能影响 XsHSF3 和 XsHSF17 的 mRNA 水平，XsHSF9 基因可能受到 miR172 的调控。miR172 和 miR164 在叶片和根系中盐处理的表达趋势与 基因和 基因的表达趋势相反。启动子分析表明， 可能参与光和激素反应、植物发育以及非生物胁迫反应。因此，我们的研究结果概述了 中的 HSF 家族，并为未来揭示其在盐碱性响应中的作用的功能研究奠定了基础。
