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Systematic Investigations of the ZF-HD Gene Family in Tobacco Reveal Their Multiple Roles in Abiotic Stresses

Authors :
Jinhao Sun
Minmin Xie
Xiaoxu Li
Zhiyuan Li
Qi Wang
Anming Ding
Weifeng Wang
Yuhe Sun
Source :
Agronomy, Vol 11, Iss 3, p 406 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

Zinc finger homeodomain (ZF-HD) transcription factors play significant roles in plant growth and responses to environmental stresses. In this study, 32 ZF-HD genes identified in the tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) genome were divided into six groups according to phylogenetic analysis with Arabidopsis and tomato ZF-HD members. An examination of gene structures and conserved motifs revealed the relatively conserved exon/intron structures and motif organization within each subgroup. In addition, various stress-related elements are found in the promoter region of these genes. The expression profiling analysis revealed that NtZF-HD genes expressed in different tissues and could be induced by several abiotic stresses. Notably, NtZF-HD21 was highly expressed in response to the drought treatments. Subcellular localization analysis and a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) experiment were performed to investigate the potential functions of NtZF-HD21. The subcellular localization indicated that NtZF-HD21 is a nuclear protein. Furthermore, gene silencing of the NtZF-HD21 gene reduced the drought resistance of tobacco. These findings provide insights for further biological functional analyses of the NtZF-HD genes in tobacco.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20734395
Volume :
11
Issue :
3
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Agronomy
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.289852726f7146089ef101fec1af88d4
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11030406