GRAS gene family in rye (Secale cereale L.): genome-wide identification, phylogeny, evolutionary expansion and expression analyses

• Published in: BMC plant biology Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 46
• Main Authors: Fan, Yu, Wan, Xianqi, Zhang, Xin, Zhang, Jieyu, Zheng, Chunyu, Yang, Qiaohui, Yang, Li, Li, Xiaolong, Feng, Liang, Zou, Liang, Xiang, Dabing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 13.01.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Amino acid substitution; Amino acids; Analysis; Biological activity; Biosynthesis; Cell division; Crop improvement; DELLA; Drought; Environmental stress; Evolutionary genetics; Expression pattern; Flowers & plants; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Gene mapping; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genome, Plant - genetics; Genomes; Gibberellic acid; Gibberellins; Grain; GRAS gene family; Growth regulators; Hydrophobicity; Localization; Molecular weight; Phosphorylation; Phylogeny; Physiology; Plant Breeding; Plant growth; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plant tissues; Proteins; Rice; Rye; Secale - genetics; Secale cereale; Signal transduction; Spraying; Transcription factors; China; Secale cereale; GRAS gene family; Expression pattern; DELLA
• ISSN: 1471-2229; 1471-2229
• DOI: 10.1186/s12870-023-04674-1

The GRAS transcription factor family plays a crucial role in various biological processes in different plants, such as tissue development, fruit maturation, and environmental stress. However, the GRAS family in rye has not been systematically analyzed yet. In this study, 67 GRAS genes in S. cereale were identified and named based on the chromosomal location. The gene structures, conserved motifs, cis-acting elements, gene replications, and expression patterns were further analyzed. These 67 ScGRAS members are divided into 13 subfamilies. All members include the LHR I, VHIID, LHR II, PFYRE, and SAW domains, and some nonpolar hydrophobic amino acid residues may undergo cross-substitution in the VHIID region. Interested, tandem duplications may have a more important contribution, which distinguishes them from other monocotyledonous plants. To further investigate the evolutionary relationship of the GRAS family, we constructed six comparative genomic maps of homologous genes between rye and different representative monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants. The response characteristics of 19 ScGRAS members from different subfamilies to different tissues, grains at filling stages, and different abiotic stresses of rye were systematically analyzed. Paclobutrazol, a triazole-based plant growth regulator, controls plant tissue and grain development by inhibiting gibberellic acid (GA) biosynthesis through the regulation of DELLA proteins. Exogenous spraying of paclobutrazol significantly reduced the plant height but was beneficial for increasing the weight of 1000 grains of rye. Treatment with paclobutrazol, significantly reduced gibberellin levels in grain in the filling period, caused significant alteration in the expression of the DELLA subfamily gene members. Furthermore, our findings with respect to genes, ScGRAS46 and ScGRAS60, suggest that these two family members could be further used for functional characterization studies in basic research and in breeding programmes for crop improvement. We identified 67 ScGRAS genes in rye and further analysed the evolution and expression patterns of the encoded proteins. This study will be helpful for further analysing the functional characteristics of ScGRAS genes.