AUTHOR=Pang Fei , Niu Junqi , Solanki Manoj Kumar , Nosheen Shaista , Liu Zhaoliang , Wang Zhen 

TITLE=PHD-finger family genes in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): Evolutionary conservatism, functional diversification, and active expression in abiotic stress

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1016831

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.1016831

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Plant homeodomain (PHD) transcription factors (TFs) are a class of proteins with conserved Cys4-His-Cys3 domains that play important roles in plant growth and development and in response to abiotic stresses. Although characterization of <italic>PHDs</italic> has been performed in plants, little is known about their function in wheat (<italic>Triticum aestivum</italic> L.), especially under stress conditions. In the present study, 244 TaPHDs were identified in wheat using comparative genomics. We renamed them <italic>TaPHD1-244</italic> based on their chromosomal distribution, and almost all PHD proteins were predicted to be located in the nucleus. According to the unrooted neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree, gene structure, and motif analyses, <italic>PHD</italic> genes were divided into four clades. A total of 149 <italic>TaPHD</italic> genes were assigned to arise from duplication events. Furthermore, 230 gene pairs came from wheat itself, and 119, 186, 168, 7, 2, and 6 gene pairs came from six other species (<italic>Hordeum vulgareto, Zea mays</italic>, <italic>Oryza sativa</italic>, <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic>, <italic>Brassica rapa</italic>, and <italic>Gossypium raimondii</italic>, respectively). A total of 548 interacting protein branches were identified to be involved in the protein interaction network. Tissue-specific expression pattern analysis showed that <italic>TaPHDs</italic> were highly expressed in the stigma and ovary during flowering, suggesting that the <italic>TaPHD</italic> gene plays an active role in the reproductive growth of wheat. In addition, the qRT-PCR results further confirmed that these <italic>TaPHD</italic> genes are involved in the abiotic stress response of wheat. In conclusion, our study provides a theoretical basis for deciphering the molecular functions of <italic>TaPHDs</italic>, particularly in response to abiotic stress.</p>