Genome-wide analysis identifies chickpea (Cicer arietinum) heat stress transcription factors (Hsfs) responsive to heat stress at the pod development stage

Abstract

The heat stress transcription factors (Hsfs) play a prominent role in thermotolerance and eliciting the heat stress response in plants. Identification and expression analysis of Hsfs gene family members in chickpea would provide valuable information on heat stress responsive Hsfs. A genome-wide analysis of Hsfs gene family resulted in the identification of 22 Hsf genes in chickpea in both desi and kabuli genome. Phylogenetic analysis distinctly separated 12 A, 9 B, and 1 C class Hsfs, respectively. An analysis of cis-regulatory elements in the upstream region of the genes identified many stress responsive elements such as heat stress elements (HSE), abscisic acid responsive element (ABRE) etc. In silico expression analysis showed nine and three Hsfs were also expressed in drought and salinity stresses, respectively. Q-PCR expression analysis of Hsfs under heat stress at pod development and at 15 days old seedling stage showed that CarHsfA2, A6, and B2 were significantly upregulated in both the stages of crop growth and other four Hsfs (CarHsfA2, A6a, A6c, B2a) showed early transcriptional upregulation for heat stress at seedling stage of chickpea. These subclasses of Hsfs identified in this study can be further evaluated as candidate genes in the characterization of heat stress response in chickpea.

Genome-Wide Investigation of Heat Shock Transcription Factor Family in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and Possible Roles in Anther Development

“…In plants, HSFs are involved in various molecular processes and they have essential roles in the responses to abiotic stresses. Previous studies identified 21, 25, 25, 25, 25, and Hsf genes in Arabidopsis, rice, maize, sorghum, tomato, and chickpea, respectively [13][14][15][16]51]. The number of HSF family members appears to be unrelated to the genome size, e.g., 35 Hsfs were found in Chinese cabbage (485 Mb) and 137 Hsfs in pear (527 Mb) [21,52].…”

“…The first HSF gene found in plants was cloned in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) [12] and the HSF gene family have now been characterized in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), rice (Oryza sativa) [13], maize (Zea mays) [14], soybean (Glycine max) [15], chickpea (Cicer arietinum) [16], and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) [17], as well as in vegetables including Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) [18] and pepper (Capsicum annuum) [19], and fruits such as apple (Malus domestica) [20] and pear (Pyrus bretschneideri) [21]. In addition to the Hsf s involved in the regulation of heat-resistance mechanism studied in Arabidopsis [22,23], many Hsfs have been found to participate in other responses in various plant species in recent years.…”

Developing Climate-Resilient Chickpea Involving Physiological and Molecular Approaches With a Focus on Temperature and Drought Stresses

“…The transcription of HSP genes is controlled by heat stress transcription factors (Hsfs), which play a prominent role in thermo tolerance (Kotak et al, 2007). The recent identification of 22 Hsfs genes in the chickpea genome (both desi and kabuli) has provided valuable information on thermo tolerance in chickpea (Chidambaranathan et al, 2018). Quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) expression analysis of Hsfs in heat-stressed (> 35°C for 3 h) chickpea at two stages of development (15-day-old seedlings and during podding) revealed that CarHsfA2, A6, and B2 were up-regulated at both the stages of growth and four other Hsfs (CarHsfA2, A6a, A6c, B2a) showed early transcriptional upregulation (Chidambaranathan et al, 2018).…”

Genome-wide investigation of heat shock transcription factor family in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

“…Previous studies identified 21, 25, 25, 25, 25, and 22 Hsf genes in Arabidopsis, rice, maize, sorghum, tomato, and chickpea, respectively [12][13][14][15]34]. These findings suggest that the number of the plant HSF family members is about 25 and that the number of genes in this family is highly conserved.…”

“…The first HSF gene in plants was cloned in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) [11] and they have now been characterized in Arabidopsis, rice [12], maize (Zea mays L.) [13], soybean (Glycine max L.) [14], chickpea [15], and sorghum [16], as well as in vegetables including Chinese cabbage [17] and pepper [18], and fruits such as apple [19] and pear [20]. In addition to those Hsfs who involved in the regulation of heat-resistance mechanisms were researched in Arabidopsis [21,22], many Hsfs have been found to be participate in other response in various plants in recent years.…”