Genome-Wide Identification of the Phytocyanin Gene Family and Its Potential Function in Salt Stress in Soybean (<i>Glycine max</i> (L.) Merr.)

oleh: Li Wang, Jinyu Zhang, Huici Li, Gongzhan Zhang, Dandan Hu, Dan Zhang, Xinjuan Xu, Yuming Yang, Zhongwen Huang

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-09-01

Deskripsi

Phytocyanins (PCs), plant-specific blue copper proteins, are crucial for various biological processes during plant development. However, a comprehensive characterization of the soybean <i>PC</i> gene family (<i>GmPC</i>) is lacking. In this study, we performed genome-wide screening of soybean <i>PC</i> genes, and 90 <i>PC</i> genes were identified in the soybean genome. Further analysis revealed that the <i>GmPC</i> family was categorized into four subfamilies (stellacyanins, GmSCs; uclacyanins, GmUCs; plantacyanins, GmPLCs; and early nodulin-like proteins, GmENODLs). In-depth analysis revealed that each specific <i>GmPC</i> subfamily exhibited similar characteristics, with segmental duplications playing a major role in expanding the members of <i>GmPC</i>. Additionally, synteny and evolutionary constraint analyses suggested that <i>GmPCs</i> have undergone strong selective pressure for purification during the evolution of soybeans. The promoter <i>cis</i>-regulatory elements analysis of <i>GmPCs</i> suggested that <i>GmPCs</i> might play a crucial role in various stress responses. The expression patterns of <i>GmPCs</i> exhibited tissue-specific variations. Moreover, 23 of the <i>GmPCs</i> may be involved in soybean’s response to salt stress. In all, our study presents a systematic overview of <i>GmPC</i>, which not only provides a valuable foundation for further functional investigations of <i>GmPCs</i>, but also offers new insights into the mechanism of soybean salt tolerance.