Genome-wide identification and analysis of ERF transcription factors related to abiotic stress responses in Nelumbo nucifera

Abstract Background Ethylene-responsive factor (ERF) transcription factors belong to the APETALA2/ERF (AP2/ERF) superfamily, and play crucial roles in plant development process and stress responses. However, the function of ERF proteins (especially for their role in response to abiotic stresses) rem...

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Main Authors: Yingchun Xu, Junnan Jiang, Lihong Zeng, Huan Liu, Qijiang Jin, Ping Zhou, Yanjie Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-11-01
Series:BMC Plant Biology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05772-4
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author Yingchun Xu
Junnan Jiang
Lihong Zeng
Huan Liu
Qijiang Jin
Ping Zhou
Yanjie Wang
author_facet Yingchun Xu
Junnan Jiang
Lihong Zeng
Huan Liu
Qijiang Jin
Ping Zhou
Yanjie Wang
author_sort Yingchun Xu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Ethylene-responsive factor (ERF) transcription factors belong to the APETALA2/ERF (AP2/ERF) superfamily, and play crucial roles in plant development process and stress responses. However, the function of ERF proteins (especially for their role in response to abiotic stresses) remains scarce in Nelumbo nucifera, which is an important aquatic plant with high ornamental, economic, and ecological values. Results A total of 107 ERF genes were identified from the N. nucifera genome, and phylogenetic analysis classified these genes into 11 groups. The NnERF genes in the same group exhibited similar gene structure and conserved motifs, and they were unevenly distributed across the 8 chromosomes, with three pairs of tandem duplications and 21 pairs of segmental duplications. Synteny analysis revealed 44 and 39 of NnERF genes were orthologous to those in Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa, respectively. Tissue-specific expression patterns analysis of NnERF showed that 26 NnERF genes were expressed in all tested tissues, in which five genes exhibited high expression levels. Furthermore, 16 NnERF genes were selected for exploring their responses to different abiotic stresses, including cold, salt, drought, and Cd stresses. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that all these 16 investigated genes were regulated by at least one stress treatment, and 12 genes responded to all the stress treatments with different expression patterns or levels, suggesting their potential roles in diverse abiotic stress tolerance of N. nucifera. Additionally, two representative stress-related NnERFs (Nn3g19628 and Nn1g06033) were confirmed to be nuclear-localized proteins and displayed transcriptional activation. Conclusions In this study, we conducted a genome-wide identification and analysis of NnERF gene family related to abiotic stress responses in N. nucifera, which provides valuable information for further functional validation of these genes in stress responses, and forms a foundation for stress tolerance breeding in N. nucifera and other aquatic ornamental plants.
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spelling doaj-art-e5d72c46e509436bb17738aa68efdcad2025-08-20T02:49:56ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292024-11-0124112110.1186/s12870-024-05772-4Genome-wide identification and analysis of ERF transcription factors related to abiotic stress responses in Nelumbo nuciferaYingchun Xu0Junnan Jiang1Lihong Zeng2Huan Liu3Qijiang Jin4Ping Zhou5Yanjie Wang6Key Laboratory of Landscaping, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland, Administration On Biology of Ornamental Plants in East China, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural UniversityKey Laboratory of Landscaping, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland, Administration On Biology of Ornamental Plants in East China, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural UniversityKey Laboratory of Landscaping, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland, Administration On Biology of Ornamental Plants in East China, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural UniversityKey Laboratory of Landscaping, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland, Administration On Biology of Ornamental Plants in East China, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural UniversityKey Laboratory of Landscaping, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland, Administration On Biology of Ornamental Plants in East China, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural UniversityKey Laboratory of Landscaping, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland, Administration On Biology of Ornamental Plants in East China, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural UniversityKey Laboratory of Landscaping, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland, Administration On Biology of Ornamental Plants in East China, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural UniversityAbstract Background Ethylene-responsive factor (ERF) transcription factors belong to the APETALA2/ERF (AP2/ERF) superfamily, and play crucial roles in plant development process and stress responses. However, the function of ERF proteins (especially for their role in response to abiotic stresses) remains scarce in Nelumbo nucifera, which is an important aquatic plant with high ornamental, economic, and ecological values. Results A total of 107 ERF genes were identified from the N. nucifera genome, and phylogenetic analysis classified these genes into 11 groups. The NnERF genes in the same group exhibited similar gene structure and conserved motifs, and they were unevenly distributed across the 8 chromosomes, with three pairs of tandem duplications and 21 pairs of segmental duplications. Synteny analysis revealed 44 and 39 of NnERF genes were orthologous to those in Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa, respectively. Tissue-specific expression patterns analysis of NnERF showed that 26 NnERF genes were expressed in all tested tissues, in which five genes exhibited high expression levels. Furthermore, 16 NnERF genes were selected for exploring their responses to different abiotic stresses, including cold, salt, drought, and Cd stresses. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that all these 16 investigated genes were regulated by at least one stress treatment, and 12 genes responded to all the stress treatments with different expression patterns or levels, suggesting their potential roles in diverse abiotic stress tolerance of N. nucifera. Additionally, two representative stress-related NnERFs (Nn3g19628 and Nn1g06033) were confirmed to be nuclear-localized proteins and displayed transcriptional activation. Conclusions In this study, we conducted a genome-wide identification and analysis of NnERF gene family related to abiotic stress responses in N. nucifera, which provides valuable information for further functional validation of these genes in stress responses, and forms a foundation for stress tolerance breeding in N. nucifera and other aquatic ornamental plants.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05772-4Sacred lotusERF gene familyGene duplicationExpression patternsSubcellular localization
spellingShingle Yingchun Xu
Junnan Jiang
Lihong Zeng
Huan Liu
Qijiang Jin
Ping Zhou
Yanjie Wang
Genome-wide identification and analysis of ERF transcription factors related to abiotic stress responses in Nelumbo nucifera
BMC Plant Biology
Sacred lotus
ERF gene family
Gene duplication
Expression patterns
Subcellular localization
title Genome-wide identification and analysis of ERF transcription factors related to abiotic stress responses in Nelumbo nucifera
title_full Genome-wide identification and analysis of ERF transcription factors related to abiotic stress responses in Nelumbo nucifera
title_fullStr Genome-wide identification and analysis of ERF transcription factors related to abiotic stress responses in Nelumbo nucifera
title_full_unstemmed Genome-wide identification and analysis of ERF transcription factors related to abiotic stress responses in Nelumbo nucifera
title_short Genome-wide identification and analysis of ERF transcription factors related to abiotic stress responses in Nelumbo nucifera
title_sort genome wide identification and analysis of erf transcription factors related to abiotic stress responses in nelumbo nucifera
topic Sacred lotus
ERF gene family
Gene duplication
Expression patterns
Subcellular localization
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05772-4
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