Genome–Wide Identification of the GRAS Family Genes in Melilotus albus and Expression Analysis under Various Tissues and Abiotic Stresses

Abstract

The GRAS gene family is a plant−specific family of transcription factors, which play an important role in many metabolic pathways, such as plant growth and development and stress response. However, there is no report on the comprehensive study of the GRAS gene family of Melilotus albus. Here, we identified 55 MaGRAS genes, which were classified into 8 subfamilies by phylogenetic analysis, and unevenly distributed on 8 chromosomes. The structural analysis indicated that 87% of MaGRAS genes have no intron, which is highly conservative in different species. MaGRAS proteins of the same subfamily have similar protein motifs, which are the source of functional differences of different genomes. Transcriptome and qRT−PCR data were combined to determine the expression of 12 MaGRAS genes in 6 tissues, including flower, seed, leaf, stem, root and nodule, which indicated the possible roles in plant growth and development. Five and seven MaGRAS genes were upregulated under ABA, drought, and salt stress treatments in the roots and shoots, respectively, indicating that they play vital roles in the response to ABA and abiotic stresses in M. albus. Furthermore, in yeast heterologous expression, MaGRAS12, MaGRAS34 and MaGRAS33 can enhance the drought or salt tolerance of yeast cells. Taken together, these results provide basic information for understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms of GRAS proteins and valuable information for further studies on the growth, development and stress responses of GRAS proteins in M. albus.

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the GRAS gene family in Dendrobium chrysotoxum

“…During evolution, introns are considered to be one of the important reasons for the formation of new genes. 69.56% of DchGRAS genes in this study lacked introns ( Figure 2C ) and more than 70% of GRAS genes in other plants such as Z. mays ( Guo et al., 2017 ), Glycine max ( Wang et al., 2020 ) and Melilotus albus ( Wang et al., 2022 ) lacked introns. This phenomenon is parallel to the early reports on the conserved characteristics of GRAS genes.…”

Genomic characterisation and dissection of the onset of resistance to acetyl CoA carboxylase-inhibiting herbicides in a large collection of Digitaria insularis from Brazil

“…Using these SNPs in PCA evidenced a subtle genetic structure; populations from MT could be moderately differentiated from the remaining populations ( Figure 3B ). The in silico analysis of the top outlier loci revealed hits with adaptive genes such as DUF579, DUF2404 and GRAS family transcription factor involved in growth and development and/or abiotic stress responses ( Lee et al, 2012 ; Wang et al, 2022 ). In invasive weed species, adaptive signatures throughout the genomes have been identified using GBS markers and SNPs active in geographic differentiation detected more often pathways related to growth and defence responses ( Martin et al, 2016 ; van Boheemen et al, 2017 ; Ruan et al, 2021 ).…”

Genome-wide identification and expression pattern analysis of the kiwifruit GRAS transcription factor family in response to salt stress

“…However, if plants are exposed to high salinity, ABA signaling is activated, which promotes the accumulation of DELLA proteins, inhibits plant growth, and enhances plant resistance [ 37 ]. Five and seven MaGRAS genes were upregulated in the root and aboveground parts of Melilotus albus under ABA, drought, and salt stress treatments, respectively [ 38 ]. In Medicago sativa , drought stress and hormone treatments (ABA, GA, and IAA) induced MsGRAS51 expression.…”