Yang Yujie, He Meiyu, Zhang Kaixin, Zhai Zeyang, Cheng Jialing, Tian Yue, Cao Xu, Liu Li
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural and Animal Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China.
Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sericultural Scientific Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang 212100, China.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Apr 10;14(8):1179. doi: 10.3390/plants14081179.
The NAC (NAM/ATAF1/2/CUC2) transcription factors are pivotal regulators in plant development and stress responses. Despite the extensive studies on the NAC gene family across various plant species, the characterization of this gene family in mulberry () remains unexplored. Here, we conducted a genome-wide identification and characterization of the NAC gene family in . A total of 79 genes were identified and classified into 20 subgroups, displaying an uneven distribution across the 14 chromosomes. The structural analysis found that most genes possess at least three exons and contain the conserved NAC domain and characteristic motifs at the N-terminus. Eleven collinear gene pairs were identified in genome. Interspecies collinearity analysis demonstrated a closer evolutionary relationship between and , supported by the identification of 116 collinear gene pairs. Expression profiling revealed dynamic changes in the transcript levels of most genes during mulberry fruit maturation. Notably, the eight MaNAC members from the OsNAC7 subfamily exhibited tissue-specific expression patterns. A significant proportion of genes displayed varying degrees of responsiveness to drought stress and sclerotium disease. , , and emerged as the most highly responsive candidates. Overexpression of enhanced drought tolerance in . These findings provide a robust foundation for future functional studies and mechanistic investigations into the roles of the NAC gene family in , offering insights into their contributions to development and stress adaptation.
NAC（NAM/ATAF1/2/CUC2）转录因子是植物发育和应激反应中的关键调节因子。尽管对各种植物物种中的NAC基因家族进行了广泛研究，但桑树中该基因家族的特征仍未得到探索。在此，我们对桑树中的NAC基因家族进行了全基因组鉴定和特征分析。共鉴定出79个基因，并将其分为20个亚组，在14条染色体上分布不均。结构分析发现，大多数桑树基因至少含有三个外显子，并且在N端含有保守的NAC结构域和特征基序。在桑树基因组中鉴定出11对共线基因对。种间共线性分析表明，桑树与水稻之间的进化关系更为密切，共鉴定出116对共线基因对。表达谱分析揭示了大多数桑树基因在桑果成熟过程中转录水平的动态变化。值得注意的是，来自OsNAC7亚家族的8个MaNAC成员表现出组织特异性表达模式。相当一部分桑树基因对干旱胁迫和菌核病表现出不同程度的响应。MaNAC1、MaNAC2、MaNAC3和MaNAC4成为响应最为强烈的候选基因。MaNAC1的过表达增强了桑树的耐旱性。这些发现为未来对桑树NAC基因家族作用的功能研究和机制研究提供了坚实基础，有助于深入了解它们对发育和胁迫适应的贡献。
