Feng Xinghua, Wang Chuchu, Jia Sijin, Wang Jiaying, Zhou Lianxia, Song Yan, Guo Qingxun, Zhang Chunyu
Department of Horticulture, College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Jan 20;26(2):843. doi: 10.3390/ijms26020843.
The basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors play essential roles in multiple stress responses and have been identified and functionally characterized in many plant species. However, the bZIP family members in blueberry are unclear. In this study, we identified 102 genes in . were divided into 10 groups based on phylogenetic analysis, and each group shared similar motifs, domains, and gene structures. Predictions of cis-regulatory elements in the upstream sequences of genes indicated that VcbZIP proteins are likely involved in phytohormone signaling pathways and abiotic stress responses. Analyses of RNA deep sequencing data showed that 18, 13, and 7 genes were differentially expressed in response to salt, drought, and ABA stress, respectively, for the blueberry cultivar Northland. Ten genes responded to both salt and drought stress, indicating that salt and drought have unique and overlapping signals. Of these genes, are responsive to salt, drought, and abscisic acid treatments, and their encoded proteins may integrate salt, drought, and ABA signaling. Furthermore, from group A and and from group S exhibited high or low expression under salt or drought stress and might be important regulators for improving drought or salt tolerance. Pearson correlation analyses revealed that VcbZIP transcription factors may regulate stress-responsive genes to improve drought or salt tolerance in a functionally redundant manner. Our study provides a useful reference for functional analyses of VcbZIP genes and for improving salt and drought stress tolerance in blueberry.
基本亮氨酸拉链（bZIP）转录因子在多种胁迫响应中发挥着重要作用，并且已在许多植物物种中得到鉴定和功能表征。然而，蓝莓中的bZIP家族成员尚不清楚。在本研究中，我们在……中鉴定出102个基因。基于系统发育分析，这些基因被分为10组，每组具有相似的基序、结构域和基因结构。对这些基因上游序列中的顺式调控元件预测表明，VcbZIP蛋白可能参与植物激素信号通路和非生物胁迫响应。RNA深度测序数据分析表明，对于蓝莓品种北国，分别有18、13和7个基因在盐、干旱和脱落酸（ABA）胁迫下差异表达。10个基因对盐胁迫和干旱胁迫均有响应，表明盐胁迫和干旱胁迫具有独特且重叠的信号。在这些基因中，……对盐、干旱和脱落酸处理均有响应，其编码的蛋白质可能整合盐、干旱和ABA信号。此外，A组中的……以及S组中的……和……在盐胁迫或干旱胁迫下表现出高表达或低表达，可能是提高耐旱性或耐盐性的重要调控因子。Pearson相关性分析表明，VcbZIP转录因子可能以功能冗余的方式调控胁迫响应基因，从而提高蓝莓的耐旱性或耐盐性。我们的研究为VcbZIP基因的功能分析以及提高蓝莓的盐胁迫和干旱胁迫耐受性提供了有用的参考。
