Unraveling TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR Transcription Factors in Safflower: A Blueprint for Stress Resilience and Metabolic Regulation
Safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i> L.), a versatile medicinal and economic crop, harbors untapped genetic resources essential for stress resilience and metabolic regulation. The TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR (TCP) transcription factors, exclusive to plants, a...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Lili Yu Xintong Ma Mingran Dai Yue Chang Nan Wang Jian Zhang Min Zhang Na Yao Abdul Wakeel Umar Xiuming Liu |
| author_facet | Lili Yu Xintong Ma Mingran Dai Yue Chang Nan Wang Jian Zhang Min Zhang Na Yao Abdul Wakeel Umar Xiuming Liu |
| author_sort | Lili Yu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i> L.), a versatile medicinal and economic crop, harbors untapped genetic resources essential for stress resilience and metabolic regulation. The TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR (TCP) transcription factors, exclusive to plants, are pivotal in orchestrating growth, development, and stress responses, yet their roles in safflower remain unexplored. Here, we report the comprehensive identification and characterization of 26 safflower <i>TCP</i> genes (<i>CtTCPs</i>), categorized into Class I (PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR, PCF) and Class II (CINCINNATA and TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA, CIN and CYC/TB1) subfamilies. Comparative phylogenetics, conserved motif, and gene structure analyses revealed a high degree of evolutionary conservation and functional divergence within the gene family. Promoter analyses uncovered light-, hormone-, and stress-responsive cis-elements, underscoring their regulatory potential. Functional insights from qRT-PCR analyses demonstrated dynamic <i>CtTCP</i> expression under abiotic stresses, including abscisic acid (ABA), Methyl Jasmonate (MeJA), Cold, and ultraviolet radiation b (UV-B) treatments. Notably, ABA stress triggered a significant increase in flavonoid accumulation, correlated with the upregulation of key flavonoid biosynthesis genes and select <i>CtTCPs</i>. These findings illuminate the complex regulatory networks underlying safflower’s abiotic stress responses and secondary metabolism, offering a molecular framework to enhance crop resilience and metabolic engineering for sustainable agriculture |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6145cf45783f4c10a76af075414b3b41 |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj-art-6145cf45783f4c10a76af075414b3b412025-01-24T13:43:16ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-01-0130225410.3390/molecules30020254Unraveling TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR Transcription Factors in Safflower: A Blueprint for Stress Resilience and Metabolic RegulationLili Yu0Xintong Ma1Mingran Dai2Yue Chang3Nan Wang4Jian Zhang5Min Zhang6Na Yao7Abdul Wakeel Umar8Xiuming Liu9 Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China Monitoring and Testing Center for Ginseng and Antler Products, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jilin Agriculture University, Changchun 130118, China Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China BNU-HKUST Laboratory of Green Innovation, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai (BNUZ), Zhuhai 519087, China Engineering Research Center of the Chinese Ministry of Education for Bioreactor and Pharmaceutical Development, College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaSafflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i> L.), a versatile medicinal and economic crop, harbors untapped genetic resources essential for stress resilience and metabolic regulation. The TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR (TCP) transcription factors, exclusive to plants, are pivotal in orchestrating growth, development, and stress responses, yet their roles in safflower remain unexplored. Here, we report the comprehensive identification and characterization of 26 safflower <i>TCP</i> genes (<i>CtTCPs</i>), categorized into Class I (PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR, PCF) and Class II (CINCINNATA and TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA, CIN and CYC/TB1) subfamilies. Comparative phylogenetics, conserved motif, and gene structure analyses revealed a high degree of evolutionary conservation and functional divergence within the gene family. Promoter analyses uncovered light-, hormone-, and stress-responsive cis-elements, underscoring their regulatory potential. Functional insights from qRT-PCR analyses demonstrated dynamic <i>CtTCP</i> expression under abiotic stresses, including abscisic acid (ABA), Methyl Jasmonate (MeJA), Cold, and ultraviolet radiation b (UV-B) treatments. Notably, ABA stress triggered a significant increase in flavonoid accumulation, correlated with the upregulation of key flavonoid biosynthesis genes and select <i>CtTCPs</i>. These findings illuminate the complex regulatory networks underlying safflower’s abiotic stress responses and secondary metabolism, offering a molecular framework to enhance crop resilience and metabolic engineering for sustainable agriculturehttps://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/2/254flavonoid biosynthesisgene expression profilingmolecular crop improvementplant regulatory networkssafflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i> L.)TCP transcription factors |
| spellingShingle | Lili Yu Xintong Ma Mingran Dai Yue Chang Nan Wang Jian Zhang Min Zhang Na Yao Abdul Wakeel Umar Xiuming Liu Unraveling TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR Transcription Factors in Safflower: A Blueprint for Stress Resilience and Metabolic Regulation Molecules flavonoid biosynthesis gene expression profiling molecular crop improvement plant regulatory networks safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i> L.) TCP transcription factors |
| title | Unraveling TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR Transcription Factors in Safflower: A Blueprint for Stress Resilience and Metabolic Regulation |
| title_full | Unraveling TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR Transcription Factors in Safflower: A Blueprint for Stress Resilience and Metabolic Regulation |
| title_fullStr | Unraveling TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR Transcription Factors in Safflower: A Blueprint for Stress Resilience and Metabolic Regulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unraveling TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR Transcription Factors in Safflower: A Blueprint for Stress Resilience and Metabolic Regulation |
| title_short | Unraveling TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR Transcription Factors in Safflower: A Blueprint for Stress Resilience and Metabolic Regulation |
| title_sort | unraveling teosinte branched1 cycloidea proliferating cell factor transcription factors in safflower a blueprint for stress resilience and metabolic regulation |
| topic | flavonoid biosynthesis gene expression profiling molecular crop improvement plant regulatory networks safflower (<i>Carthamus tinctorius</i> L.) TCP transcription factors |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/2/254 |
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