AUTHOR=Nuruzzaman Mohammed , Sharoni Akhter Most , Satoh Kouji , Karim Mohammad R., Harikrishna Jennifer A., Shimizu Takumi , Sasaya Takahide , Oomura Toshihiro , Haque Mohammad A., Kikuchi Shoshi 

TITLE=NAC transcription factor family genes are differentially expressed in rice during infections with Rice dwarf virus, Rice black-streaked dwarf virus, Rice grassy stunt virus, Rice ragged stunt virus, and Rice transitory yellowing virus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.00676

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2015.00676

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Expression levels of the <italic>NAC</italic> gene family were studied in rice infected with <italic>Rice dwarf virus</italic> (RDV), <italic>Rice black-streaked dwarf virus</italic> (RBSDV), <italic>Rice grassy stunt virus</italic> (RGSV), <italic>Rice ragged stunt virus</italic> (RRSV), and <italic>Rice transitory yellowing virus</italic> (RTYV). Microarray analysis showed that 75 (68%) <italic>OsNAC</italic> genes were differentially regulated during infection with RDV, RBSDV, RGSV, and RRSV compared with the control. The number of <italic>OsNAC</italic> genes up-regulated was highest during RGSV infection, while the lowest number was found during RTYV infection. These phenomena correlate with the severity of the syndromes induced by the virus infections. Most of the genes in the NAC subgroups NAC22, SND, ONAC2, ANAC34, and ONAC3 were down-regulated for all virus infections. These <italic>OsNAC</italic> genes might be related to the health stage maintenance of the host plants. Interestingly, most of the genes in the subgroups TIP and SNAC were more highly expressed during RBSDV and RGSV infections. These results suggested that <italic>OsNAC</italic> genes might be related to the responses induced by the virus infection. All of the genes assigned to the TIP subgroups were highly expressed during RGSV infection when compared with the control. For RDV infection, the number of activated genes was greatest during infection with the S-strain, followed by the D84-strain and the O-strain, with seven <italic>OsNAC</italic> genes up-regulated during infection by all three strains. The <italic>Os12g03050</italic> and <italic>Os11g05614</italic> genes showed higher expression during infection with four of the five viruses, and <italic>Os11g03310, Os11g03370</italic>, and <italic>Os07g37920</italic> genes showed high expression during at least three viral infections. We identified some duplicate genes that are classified as neofunctional and subfunctional according to their expression levels in different viral infections. A number of putative <italic>cis</italic>-elements were identified, which may help to clarify the function of these key genes in network pathways.</p>