Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1520267
This article is part of the Research Topic Salinity and Drought Stress in Plants: Understanding Physiological, Biochemical and Molecular Responses Volume II View all 18 articles

Genome-wide characterization and expression analysis of the ADF gene family in response to salt and drought stress in alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Provisionally accepted
Mengmeng Shi Mengmeng Shi 1Peng Lv Peng Lv 1*Yike Wang Yike Wang 1*Yujie Gong Yujie Gong 1*Qi Sha Qi Sha 1*Xinyan Zhao Xinyan Zhao 1*Wen Zhou Wen Zhou 1*Zegang Han Zegang Han 2Lingxiao Zhang Lingxiao Zhang 1,3*Yongwang Sun Yongwang Sun 1*
  • 1 College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
  • 2 College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 3 State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China

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

    The microfilament cytoskeleton, formed by the process of actin polymerization, serves not only to support the morphology of the cell, but also to regulate a number of cellular activities. Actin-depolymerizing factors (ADFs) represent a significant class of actin-binding proteins that regulate the dynamic alterations in the microfilament framework, thereby playing a pivotal role in plant growth and development.Additionally, they are instrumental in modulating stress responses in plants. The ADF gene family has been explored in various plants, but there was a paucity of knowledge regarding the ADF gene family in alfalfa (Medicago sativa), which is one of the most significant leguminous forage crops globally. In this study, a total of nine ADF genes (designated MsADF1 through MsADF9) were identified in the alfalfa genome and mapped to five different chromosomes. A phylogenetic analysis indicated that the MsADF genes could be classified into four distinct groups, with members within the same group exhibiting comparable gene structures and conserved motifs. The analysis of the Ka/Ks ratios indicated that the MsADF genes underwent purity-based selection during its evolutionary expansion. The promoter region of these genes was found to contain multiple cis-acting elements related to hormone responses, defence, and stress, indicating that they may respond to a variety of developmental and environmental stimuli. Gene expression profiles analyzed by RT-qPCR experiments demonstrated that MsADF genes exhibited distinct expression patterns among different organs.Furthermore, the majority of MsADF genes were induced by salt and drought stress by more than two-fold, with MsADF1, 2/3, 6, and 9 being highly induced, suggesting their critical role in resistance to abiotic stress. These results provide comprehensive information on the MsADF gene family in alfalfa and lay a solid foundation for elucidating their biological function.

    Keywords: Actin-depolymerizing factor, gene family, alfalfa, abiotic stress, expression profile

    Received: 31 Oct 2024; Accepted: 26 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Shi, Lv, Wang, Gong, Sha, Zhao, Zhou, Han, Zhang and Sun. 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:
    Peng Lv, College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
    Yike Wang, College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
    Yujie Gong, College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
    Qi Sha, College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
    Xinyan Zhao, College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
    Wen Zhou, College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
    Lingxiao Zhang, College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, China
    Yongwang Sun, College of Agriculture and Biology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, 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.