Comprehensive analysis of formin gene family highlights candidate genes related to pollen cytoskeleton and male fertility in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

Background Formin, a highly conserved multi-domain protein, interacts with microfilaments and microtubules. Although specifically expressed formin genes in anthers are potentially significant in research on male sterility and hybrid wheat breeding, similar reports in wheat, especially in thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) wheat, remain elusive. Results Herein, we systematically characterized the formin genes in TGMS wheat line BS366 named TaFormins (TaFHs) and predicted their functions in inducing stress response. In total, 25 TaFH genes were uncovered, majorly localized in 2A, 2B, and 2D chromosomes. According to the neighbor-joining (NJ) method, all TaFH proteins from wheat and other plants clustered in 6 sub-groups (A-F). The modeled 3D structures of TaFH1-A/B, TaFH2-A/B, TaFH3-A/B and TaFH3-B/D were validated. And different numbers of stress and hormone-responsive regulatory elements in their 1500 base pair promoter regions were contained in the TaFH genes copies. TaFHs had specific temporal and spatial expression characteristics, whereby TaFH1, TaFH4, and TaFH5 were expressed highly in the stamen of BS366. Besides, the accumulation of TaFHs was remarkably lower in a low-temperature sterile condition (Nanyang) than fertile condition (Beijing), particularly at the early stamen development stage. The pollen cytoskeleton of BS366 was abnormal in the three stages under sterile and fertile environments. Furthermore, under different stress levels, TaFHs expression could be induced by drought, salt, abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and low temperature. Some miRNAs, including miR167, miR1120, and miR172, interacts with TaFH genes; thus, we constructed an interaction network between microRNAs, TaFHs, phytohormone responses, and distribution of cytoskeleton to reveal the regulatory association between upstream genes of TaFH family members and sterile. Conclusions Collectively, this comprehensive analysis provides novel insights into TaFHs and miRNA resources for wheat breeding. These findings are, therefore, valuable in understanding the mechanism of TGMS fertility conversion in wheat.

Genome Wide Identification and Characterization of Wheat GH9 Genes Reveals Their Roles in Pollen Development and Anther Dehiscence

“…In our previous study, we found that TaGH9s were involved in pollen fertility conversion [ 31 ]. To investigate the roles of the TaGH9 family on anther and pollen development in BS366, pollen and anther morphology at critical stages of pollen development stage were observed.…”

“…L). In our previous study, it was found that GH9 may be involved in male sterility by RNA-seq [ 31 ]. GH9 had differential alternative splicing between fertile and sterile condition, involved in fertility conversion.…”

Genome-Wide Studies of FH Family Members in Soybean (Glycine max) and Their Responses under Abiotic Stresses

“…However, a comprehensive study on the identification of putative formin-related genes in the soybean remains missing. Therefore, a genome-wide investigation of formin-encoded genes was conducted by referring to the existing public soybean genome database [ 18 , 19 , 31 ].…”

Identifying Genes Associated with Female Flower Development of Phellodendron amurense Rupr. Using a Transcriptomics Approach

“…Therefore, genomic resources generated from other plants could be used to identify the potential genes involved in the sexual differentiation and flower development of P. amurense . A literature survey was undertaken to list 1281 genes involved in sex differentiation and flower development in other plants, involving 189 papers from more than 30 journals (the latest published in 2022) [ 4 , 8 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , ...…”