AUTHOR=Hu Ping , Ren Yueming , Xu Jun , Wei Qichao , Song Puwen , Guan Yuanyuan , Gao Huanting , Zhang Yang , Hu Haiyan , Li Chengwei 

TITLE=Identification of ankyrin-transmembrane-type subfamily genes in Triticeae species reveals TaANKTM2A-5 regulates powdery mildew resistance in wheat

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.943217

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.943217

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The ankyrin-transmembrane (ANKTM) subfamily is the most abundant subgroup of the ANK superfamily, with critical roles in pathogen defense. However, the function of ANKTM proteins in wheat immunity remains largely unexplored. Here, a total of 381 <italic>ANKTMs</italic> were identified from five <italic>Triticeae</italic> species and <italic>Arabidopsis</italic>, constituting five classes. Among them, class a only contains proteins from Triticeae species and the number of ANKTM in class a of wheat is significantly larger than expected, even after consideration of the ploidy level. Tandem duplication analysis of <italic>ANKTM</italic> indicates that <italic>Triticum urartu</italic>, <italic>Triticum dicoccoides</italic> and wheat all had experienced tandem duplication events which in wheat-produced <italic>ANKTM</italic> genes all clustered in class a. The above suggests that not only did the genome polyploidization result in the increase of <italic>ANKTM</italic> gene number, but that tandem duplication is also a mechanism for the expansion of this subfamily. Micro-collinearity analysis of Triticeae <italic>ANKTMs</italic> indicates that some <italic>ANKTM</italic> type genes evolved into other types of <italic>ANKs</italic> in the evolution process. Public RNA-seq data showed that most of the genes in class d and class e are expressed, and some of them show differential responses to biotic stresses. Furthermore, qRT-PCR results showed that some <italic>ANKTMs</italic> in class d and class e responded to powdery mildew. Silencing of <italic>TaANKTM2A-5</italic> by barley stripe mosaic virus-induced gene silencing compromised powdery mildew resistance in common wheat Bainongaikang58. Findings in this study not only help to understand the evolutionary process of <italic>ANKTM</italic> genes, but also form the basis for exploring disease resistance genes in the <italic>ANKTM</italic> gene family.</p>