Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of the <i>Cystatin</i> Gene Family in Bread Wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.)
Cystatins, as reversible inhibitors of papain-like and legumain proteases, have been identified in several plant species. Although the <i>cystatin</i> family plays crucial roles in plant development and defense responses to various stresses, this family in wheat (<i>Triticum aestiv...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-09-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/19/10264 |
| Summary: | Cystatins, as reversible inhibitors of papain-like and legumain proteases, have been identified in several plant species. Although the <i>cystatin</i> family plays crucial roles in plant development and defense responses to various stresses, this family in wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.) is still poorly understood. In this study, 55 wheat cystatins (<i>TaCystatins</i>) were identified. All <i>TaCystatins</i> were divided into three groups and both the conserved gene structures and peptide motifs were relatively conserved within each group. Homoeolog analysis suggested that both homoeolog retention percentage and gene duplications contributed to the abundance of the <i>TaCystatin</i> family. Analysis of duplication events confirmed that segmental duplications played an important role in the duplication patterns. The results of codon usage pattern analysis showed that <i>TaCystatins</i> had evident codon usage bias, which was mainly affected by mutation pressure. <i>TaCystatins</i> may be regulated by cis-acting elements, especially abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate responsive elements. In addition, the expression of all selected <i>TaCystatins</i> was significantly changed following viral infection and cold stress, suggesting potential roles in response to biotic and abiotic challenges. Overall, our work provides new insights into <i>TaCystatins</i> during wheat evolution and will help further research to decipher the roles of <i>TaCystatins</i> under diverse stress conditions. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |