AUTHOR=Sarwar Rehman , Geng Rui , Li Lei , Shan Yue , Zhu Ke-Ming , Wang Jin , Tan Xiao-Li 

TITLE=Genome-Wide Prediction, Functional Divergence, and Characterization of Stress-Responsive BZR Transcription Factors in B. napus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.790655

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2021.790655

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>BRASSINAZOLE RESISTANT (BZR) are transcriptional factors that bind to the DNA of targeted genes to regulate several plant growth and physiological processes in response to abiotic and biotic stresses. However, information on such genes in <italic>Brassica napus</italic> is minimal. Furthermore, the new reference <italic>Brassica napus</italic> genome offers an excellent opportunity to systematically characterize this gene family in <italic>B. napus</italic>. In our study, 21 <italic>BnaBZR</italic> genes were distributed across 19 chromosomes of <italic>B. napus</italic> and clustered into four subgroups based on <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic> orthologs. Functional divergence analysis among these groups evident the shifting of evolutionary rate after the duplication events. In terms of structural analysis, the <italic>BnaBZR</italic> genes within each subgroup are highly conserved but are distinctive within groups. Organ-specific expression analyses of <italic>BnaBZR</italic> genes using RNA-seq data and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) revealed complex expression patterns in plant tissues during stress conditions. In which genes belonging to subgroups III and IV were identified to play central roles in plant tolerance to salt, drought, and <italic>Sclerotinia sclerotiorum</italic> stress. The insights from this study enrich our understanding of the <italic>B. napus BZR</italic> gene family and lay a foundation for future research in improving rape seed environmental adaptability.</p>