Genome-Wide Identification, Characterization, and Expression Analysis of the NAC Transcription Factor in Chenopodium quinoa

• Published in: Genes Vol. 10; no. 7; p. 500
• Main Authors: Li, Feng, Guo, Xuhu, Liu, Jianxia, Zhou, Feng, Liu, Wenying, Wu, Juan, Zhang, Hongli, Cao, Huifen, Su, Huanzhen, Wen, Riyu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 30-06-2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Chenopodium quinoa; Chenopodium quinoa - genetics; Divergence; Gene expression; Genome, Plant; Genomes; Localization; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Plant Proteins - genetics; Proteins; Quinoa; Salinity; Salinity tolerance; Seeds; Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcriptome; NAC transcription factor family; gene expression patterns; phylogenetic analysis; quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa)
• ISSN: 2073-4425; 2073-4425
• DOI: 10.3390/genes10070500

The NAC (NAM, ATAF, and CUC) family is one of the largest families of plant-specific transcription factors. It is involved in many plant growth and development processes, as well as abiotic/biotic stress responses. So far, little is known about the NAC family in
. In the present study, a total of 90
were identified in quinoa (named as
) and phylogenetically divided into 14 distinct subfamilies. Different subfamilies showed diversities in gene proportions, exon-intron structures, and motif compositions. In addition, 28
duplication events were investigated, and a strong subfamily preference was found during the
expansion in quinoa, indicating that the duplication event was not random across
subfamilies during quinoa evolution. Moreover, the analysis of Ka/Ks (non-synonymous substitution rate/synonymous substitution rate) ratios suggested that the duplicated
might have mainly experienced purifying selection pressure with limited functional divergence. Additionally, 11 selected
showed significant tissue-specific expression patterns, and all the
were positively regulated in response to salt stress. The result provided evidence for selecting candidate genes for further characterization in tissue/organ specificity and their functional involvement in quinoa's strong salinity tolerance.