Genome-Wide Identification, Evolutionary and Functional Analyses of WRKY Family Members in <i>Ginkgo biloba</i>

WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are one of the largest families in plants which play essential roles in plant growth and stress response. <i>Ginkgo biloba</i> is a living fossil that has remained essentially unchanged for more than 200 million years, and now has become widespread worldw...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Weixing Li, Nan Xiao, Yawen Wang, Ximeng Liu, Zhaoyu Chen, Xiaoyin Gu, Yadi Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-01-01
Series:Genes
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/2/343
Description
Summary:WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are one of the largest families in plants which play essential roles in plant growth and stress response. <i>Ginkgo biloba</i> is a living fossil that has remained essentially unchanged for more than 200 million years, and now has become widespread worldwide due to the medicinal active ingredients in its leaves. Here, 37 WRKY genes were identified, which were distributed randomly in nine chromosomes of <i>G. biloba</i>. Results of the phylogenetic analysis indicated that the GbWRKY could be divided into three groups. Furthermore, the expression patterns of <i>GbWRKY</i> genes were analyzed. Gene expression profiling and qRT−PCR revealed that different members of <i>GbWRKY</i> have different spatiotemporal expression patterns in different abiotic stresses. Most of the <i>GbWRKY</i> genes can respond to UV-B radiation, drought, high temperature and salt treatment. Meanwhile, all GbWRKY members performed phylogenetic tree analyses with the WRKY proteins of other species which were known to be associated with abiotic stress. The result suggested that GbWRKY may play a crucial role in regulating multiple stress tolerances. Additionally, GbWRKY13 and GbWRKY37 were all located in the nucleus, while GbWRKY15 was located in the nucleus and cytomembrane.
ISSN:2073-4425