Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Sep 23;25(18):10185. doi: 10.3390/ijms251810185.
Aquaporins (AQPs) play an essential role in membrane water transport during plant responses to water stresses centered on conventional upstream signals. Phytohormones (PHs) regulate plant growth and yield, working with transcription factors to help plants withstand environmental challenges and regulate physiological and chemical processes. The AQP gene family is important, so researchers have studied its function and regulatory system in numerous species. Yet, there is a critical gap the understanding of many of their molecular features, thus our full knowledge of AQPs is far-off. In this study, we undertook a broad examination of the AQP family gene in via bioinformatics tools and analyzed the expression patterns of certain members in response to drought, salt, and hormone stress. A total of 22 AQP genes were examined in , and were categorized into four main groups, including TIPs, PIPs, SIPs, and NIPs based on phylogenetic analysis. Comparable exon-intron gene structures were found by gene structure examination, and similarities in motif number and pattern within the same subgroup was determined by motif analysis. The gene family has numerous duplications, and there is a distinct disparity in how the members of the family react to post-translational modifications. Abiotic stress and hormone responses may be mediated by AQPs, as indicated by the abundance of stress response elements found in 22 AQP genes, as revealed by the promoter's cis-elements prediction. Expression pattern analysis reveals that selected six AQP genes from the PIP subgroup were all expressed in the leaves, stem, and roots with varying expression levels. Moreover, qRT-PCR analysis discovered that the majority of the selected AQP members were up- or down-regulated in response to hormone treatment and abiotic stress. Remarkably, and appeared to be highly responsive to drought stress and exhibited a high response to salt stress. The foliar application of the phytohormones (SA, IAA, GA3, MeJA, and ABA) were found to either activate or inhibit , suggesting that they may mitigate the effects of water shortage of poplar water stress. The present work enhances our knowledge of the practical roles of AQPs in stress reactions and offers fundamental information for the AQP genes in poplar species. It also highlights a direction for producing new varieties of poplar species with drought, salt, and hormone tolerance and holds substantial scientific and ecological importance, offering a potential contribution to the conservation of poplar species in arid regions.
水通道蛋白(AQP)在植物对以传统上游信号为中心的水分胁迫的反应中在膜水运输中发挥着重要作用。植物激素(PH)调节植物的生长和产量,与转录因子一起帮助植物抵御环境挑战并调节生理和化学过程。水通道蛋白基因家族很重要,因此研究人员在许多物种中研究了其功能和调节系统。然而,人们对它们的许多分子特征的理解还存在关键差距,因此我们对水通道蛋白的了解还远远不够。在这项研究中,我们通过生物信息学工具对 中的水通道蛋白家族基因进行了广泛研究,并分析了某些成员对干旱、盐和激素胁迫的表达模式。共检查了 中的 22 个 AQP 基因,并根据系统发生分析将其分为四个主要组,包括 TIPs、PIPs、SIPs 和 NIPs。通过基因结构检查发现了可比的外显子-内含子基因结构,并且通过 motif 分析确定了同一亚组内 motif 数量和模式的相似性。 基因家族存在大量的复制,并且家族成员对翻译后修饰的反应存在明显差异。如启动子顺式元件预测所示,22 个 AQP 基因中发现了大量的应激反应元件,表明 AQPs 可能介导非生物胁迫和激素反应。表达模式分析表明,从 PIP 亚组中选择的六个 AQP 基因在叶片、茎和根中均有表达,表达水平不同。此外,qRT-PCR 分析发现,所选 AQP 成员中的大多数对激素处理和非生物胁迫表现出上调或下调。值得注意的是, 和 似乎对干旱胁迫高度敏感,而 对盐胁迫表现出高响应。发现植物激素(SA、IAA、GA3、MeJA 和 ABA)的叶面施用要么激活要么抑制 ,这表明它们可能减轻杨树水分胁迫的缺水影响。本工作增强了我们对 AQP 在应激反应中的实际作用的认识,并为杨树物种中的 AQP 基因提供了基础信息。它还为具有耐旱、耐盐和耐激素的杨树品种的生产指明了方向,具有重要的科学和生态意义,为干旱地区杨树物种的保护做出了潜在贡献。