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Title: The WRKY transcription factor family and senescence in switchgrass

Journal Article · · BMC Genomics
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [4];  [5];  [2];  [6];  [2];  [7]
  1. Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Dallas, TX, 75252, USA
  2. Grain, Forage and Bioenergy Research Unit USDA-ARS UNL, Lincoln, NE, 68583-0937, USA
  3. Department of Biology, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, West Chester, PA, 19382, USA
  4. Molecular and Computational Biology Section, Dana & David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  5. School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA
  6. Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007, USA
  7. Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Dallas, TX, 75252, USA; 22nd Century Group Inc., Clarence, 14031, New York

Early aerial senescence in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) can significantly limit biomass yields. WRKY transcription factors that can regulate senescence could be used to reprogram senescence and enhance biomass yields. All potential WRKY genes present in the version 1.0 of the switchgrass genome were identified and curated using manual and bioinformatic methods. Expression profiles of WRKY genes in switchgrass flag leaf RNA-Seq datasets were analyzed using clustering and network analyses tools to identify both WRKY and WRKY-associated gene co-expression networks during leaf development and senescence onset. We identified 240 switchgrass WRKY genes including members of the RW5 and RW6 families of resistance proteins. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis of the flag leaf transcriptomes across development readily separated clusters of co-expressed genes into thirteen modules. A visualization highlighted separation of modules associated with the early and senescence-onset phases of flag leaf growth. The senescence-associated module contained 3000 genes including 23 WRKYs. Putative promoter regions of senescence-associated WRKY genes contained several cis-element-like sequences suggestive of responsiveness to both senescence and stress signaling pathways. A phylogenetic comparison of senescence-associated WRKY genes from switchgrass flag leaf with senescence-associated WRKY genes from other plants revealed notable hotspots in Group I, IIb, and IIe of the phylogenetic tree. We have identified and named 240 WRKY genes in the switchgrass genome. Twenty three of these genes show elevated mRNA levels during the onset of flag leaf senescence. Eleven of the WRKY genes were found in hotspots of related senescence-associated genes from multiple species and thus represent promising targets for future switchgrass genetic improvement. Overall, individual WRKY gene expression profiles could be readily linked to developmental stages of flag leaves.

Research Organization:
US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Washington, DC (United States). Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); U. S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Central Regional Sun Grant Center
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0001490; AI02-09ER64829; 2011-67009-30096; 3042-21220-032-00D; 2008-35100-04519; 2008-35100-05969; 2010-38502-21861
OSTI ID:
1626792
Journal Information:
BMC Genomics, Vol. 16, Issue 1; ISSN 1471-2164
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 49 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Transcriptome analysis of leaf senescence in red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) journal June 2018
Delaying chloroplast turnover increases water-deficit stress tolerance through the enhancement of nitrogen assimilation in rice journal July 2017
Wheat transcription factor TaWRKY70 is positively involved in high-temperature seedling plant resistance to Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici journal July 2016
Genome-Wide Analysis of the TCP Gene Family in Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) journal April 2019
Transcriptional analysis of defense mechanisms in upland tetraploid switchgrass to greenbugs journal February 2017
Revealing the transcriptomic complexity of switchgrass by PacBio long-read sequencing journal June 2018
In-silico analysis of cis-acting regulatory elements of pathogenesis-related proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa journal September 2017
Transcriptome divergence during leaf development in two contrasting switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) cultivars journal September 2019
The Solanum lycopersicum WRKY3 Transcription Factor SlWRKY3 Is Involved in Salt Stress Tolerance in Tomato journal July 2017
Genome-Wide Characterization, Expression Profile Analysis of WRKY Family Genes in Santalum album and Functional Identification of Their Role in Abiotic Stress journal November 2019
Characterization of Soybean WRKY Gene Family and Identification of Soybean WRKY Genes that Promote Resistance to Soybean Cyst Nematode journal December 2017
Genome-wide analysis of the WRKY gene family and their positive responses to phytoplasma invasion in Chinese jujube journal June 2019
GmWRKY16 Enhances Drought and Salt Tolerance Through an ABA-Mediated Pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana journal January 2019
Genome-wide survey of switchgrass NACs family provides new insights into motif and structure arrangements and reveals stress-related and tissue-specific NACs journal June 2017
Targeted mutagenesis in tetraploid switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) using CRISPR/Cas9 journal August 2017
Genome-wide promoter analysis, homology modeling and protein interaction network of Dehydration Responsive Element Binding (DREB) gene family in Solanum tuberosum journal December 2021
Proteomic Responses of Switchgrass and Prairie Cordgrass to Senescence journal March 2016
Functional and RNA-Sequencing Analysis Revealed Expression of a Novel Stay-Green Gene from Zoysia japonica (ZjSGR) Caused Chlorophyll Degradation and Accelerated Senescence in Arabidopsis journal December 2016
A Novel WRKY Transcription Factor, MuWRKY3 (Macrotyloma uniflorum Lam. Verdc.) Enhances Drought Stress Tolerance in Transgenic Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Plants journal March 2018
Arabidopsis WRKY53, a Node of Multi-Layer Regulation in the Network of Senescence journal December 2019
Characterization of the PAO/phyllobilin Pathway of Chlorophyll Breakdown in Grasses dissertation January 2016


Figures / Tables (10)