Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
Funct Plant Biol. 2024 May;51. doi: 10.1071/FP23282.
Heat stress represents a significant environmental challenge that restricts maize (Zea mays ) growth and yield on a global scale. Within the plant kingdom, the AGC gene family, encoding a group of protein kinases, has emerged as crucial players in various stress responses. Nevertheless, a comprehensive understanding of AGC genes in Z. mays under heat-stress conditions remains elusive. A genome-wide analysis was done using bioinformatics techniques to identify 39 AGC genes in Z. mays , categorising them into three subfamilies based on their conserved domains. We investigated their phylogenetic relationships, gene structures (including intron-exon configurations), and expression patterns. These genes are likely involved in diverse signalling pathways, fulfilling distinct roles when exposed to heat stress conditions. Notably, most ZmAGC1.5, ZmAGC1.9, ZmNDR3, ZmNDR5 and ZmIRE3 exhibited significant changes in expression levels under heat stress, featuring a high G-box ratio. Furthermore, we pinpointed a subset of AGC genes displaying highly coordinated expression, implying their potential involvement in the heat stress response pathway. Our study offers valuable insights into the contribution of AGC genes to Z. mays 's heat stress response, thus facilitating the development of heat-tolerant Z. mays varieties.
热应激是一种全球性的环境挑战，它限制了玉米（Zea mays）的生长和产量。在植物界中，AGC 基因家族编码了一组蛋白激酶，它们在各种应激反应中起着关键作用。然而，对于玉米在热应激条件下的 AGC 基因的全面了解仍然难以捉摸。本研究利用生物信息学技术对玉米基因组中的 39 个 AGC 基因进行了全基因组分析，根据它们的保守结构域将其分为三个亚家族。我们研究了它们的系统发育关系、基因结构（包括内含子-外显子结构）和表达模式。这些基因可能参与了多种信号通路，在热应激条件下发挥着不同的作用。值得注意的是，大多数 ZmAGC1.5、ZmAGC1.9、ZmNDR3、ZmNDR5 和 ZmIRE3 在热应激下的表达水平发生了显著变化，具有较高的 G 框比例。此外，我们还确定了一组 AGC 基因表现出高度协调的表达，表明它们可能参与了热应激反应途径。我们的研究为 AGC 基因对玉米热应激反应的贡献提供了有价值的见解，从而促进了耐热玉米品种的开发。
