Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional and Applied Plant Genomics
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1421221

Genome-wide analysis of the soybean eEF gene family and its involvement in virus resistance

Provisionally accepted
Hexiang Luan Hexiang Luan 1*Daiqiao Song Daiqiao Song 1*Kai Huang Kai Huang 1*Shuxin Li Shuxin Li 1*Hao Xu Hao Xu 2*Pradeep Kachroo Pradeep Kachroo 3Aardra Kachroo Aardra Kachroo 3*Longgang Zhao Longgang Zhao 4*
  • 1 College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China
  • 2 College of Food Science and Engineering, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
  • 3 Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, United States
  • 4 College of Grassland Science, Qingdao Agriculture University, Qingdao, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Eukaryotic elongation factors (eEFs) are protein factors that mediate the extension of peptide chain, among which eukaryotic elongation factor 1 alpha (eEF1A) is one of the most abundant protein synthesis factors. Previously we showed that the P3 protein of Soybean mosaic virus (SMV), one of the most destructive and successful viral pathogens of soybean, targets a component of the soybean translation elongation complex to facilitate its pathogenesis. Here, we conducted a systematic analyses of the soybean eEF (GmeEF) gene family in soybean and examinedits role in virus resistance. In this study, GmeEF family members were identified and characterized based on sequence analysis. The 42 members, which were unevenly distributed across the 15 chromosomes, were renamed according to their chromosomal locations.The GmeEF members were further divided into 12 subgroups based on conserved motif, gene structure, and phylogenetic analyses. Analysis of the promoter regions showed conspicuous presence of myelocytomatosis (MYC) and ethylene-responsive (ERE) cis-acting elements, which are typically involved in drought and phytohormone response, respectively, and thereby in plant stress response signaling. Transcriptome data showed that the expression of 15 GmeEF gene family members changed significantly in response to SMV infection. To further examine EF1A function in pathogen response, three different Arabidopsis mutants carrying T-DNA insertions in orthologous genes were analyzed for their response to Turnip crinkle virus (TCV) and Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Results showed that there was no difference in viral response between the mutants and the wild type plants. This study provides a systematic analysis of the GmeEF gene family through analysis of expression patterns and predicted protein features. Our results lay a foundation for understanding the role of eEF gene in soybean anti-viral response.

    Keywords: GmeEF, eEF1A, bioinformatics, Soybean, Virus infection

    Received: 22 Apr 2024; Accepted: 31 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Luan, Song, Huang, Li, Xu, Kachroo, Kachroo and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Hexiang Luan, College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China
    Daiqiao Song, College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China
    Kai Huang, College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China
    Shuxin Li, College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China
    Hao Xu, College of Food Science and Engineering, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
    Aardra Kachroo, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, United States
    Longgang Zhao, College of Grassland Science, Qingdao Agriculture University, Qingdao, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.