Yang Jialing, Han Long, Zhao Xueyi, Zhao Ziteng, Yang Jing, Wang Fawei, Du Linna
College of Life Science, Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China.
Key Laboratory of Xinjiang Phytomedicine Resource and Utilization, Ministry of Education, Institute for Safflower Industry Research of Shihezi University, Pharmacy College of Shihezi University, Shihezi, 832003, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 25;15(1):31257. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-16483-7.
Accumulated evidence demonstrated the major role of NAC transcription factors in plants response to drought stress. However, there are limited studies on the identification of safflower NAC genes and their functions in response to abiotic stress, i.e., water deficit. In the present study, a total of 85 CtNACs were identified and categorized into 17 subfamilies, and the vast majority of the CtNACs were annotated in biological process. Their promoters contained cis-regulatory elements related to light, hormonal and stress responses, and plant development. Moreover, physiological response of safflower to water deficit was assessed. Plant growth of safflower was downregulated during water deficit. The contents of osmotic adjustment substances (soluble sugar, soluble protein, proline), reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and antioxidant enzymes activities, i.e., superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase in safflower leaves were enhanced under water deficit. Additionally, the photosynthetic pigments in safflower were decreased during water stress. Moreover, quantitative real-time PCR detection revealed that the expression levels of most CtNACs were upregulated under water deficit, indicating that these genes may involved in the response of safflower to water deficit. These data facilitate the in-depth study of the biological functions of CtNACs and the breeding of drought-tolerant safflower varieties.
积累的证据表明NAC转录因子在植物对干旱胁迫的响应中起主要作用。然而，关于红花NAC基因的鉴定及其在非生物胁迫（即水分亏缺）响应中的功能研究有限。在本研究中，共鉴定出85个CtNACs并将其分为17个亚家族，绝大多数CtNACs在生物学过程中得到注释。它们的启动子包含与光、激素和胁迫响应以及植物发育相关的顺式调控元件。此外，评估了红花对水分亏缺的生理响应。水分亏缺期间，红花的植株生长受到抑制。水分亏缺条件下，红花叶片中渗透调节物质（可溶性糖、可溶性蛋白、脯氨酸）、活性氧、丙二醛、过氧化氢的含量以及抗氧化酶活性（即超氧化物歧化酶、过氧化物酶、过氧化氢酶）均升高。此外，水分胁迫期间红花中的光合色素减少。此外，实时定量PCR检测显示，水分亏缺条件下大多数CtNACs的表达水平上调，表明这些基因可能参与红花对水分亏缺的响应。这些数据有助于深入研究CtNACs的生物学功能以及耐旱红花品种的培育。
