Chinese Bulletin of Botany ›› 2016, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (4): 473-487.DOI: 10.11983/CBB15148

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Genome-wide Characterization of bZIP Transcription Factors in Foxtail Millet and Their Expression Profiles in Response to Drought and Salt Stresses

Baoling Liu1, Li Zhang1, Yan Sun2, Jinai Xue1, Changyong Gao1, Lixia Yuan1, Jiping Wang1, Xiaoyun Jia2, Runzhi Li1*   

  1. 1Institute of Molecular Agriculture & Bioenergy, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
    2Department of Life Sciences, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
  • Received:2015-08-18 Accepted:2016-03-25 Online:2016-07-01 Published:2016-08-05
  • Contact: Li Runzhi
  • About author:

    # Co-first authors

Abstract: The bZIP protein family is one of the largest and most conserved transcription factor families regulating multiple physiology processes in plants. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is an important C4 cereal crop with increased resistance to drought stress. However, little is known about bZIP family members and their functions in this crop. In the present study, we identified and characterized 73 SibZIP transcription factors in foxtail millet genome by using bioinformatics. These SibZIPs are classified into 9 groups, including A, B, C, D, E, G, H, I and X subfamilies. Compared to the sequenced cereal crops, the foxtail millet bZIP family underwent contraction in evolution. In all, 25 conserved motifs were detected among SibZIPs. RNA-seq and qPCR analysis revealed that a number of SibZIPs are induced to change expression levels in response to drought and salt stresses, which suggests that they have important functions in the foxtail millet response to stress. Moreover, correlation analysis of co-expression of the protein coding genes under various stress conditions demonstrates that a set of 19 SibZIPs may mediate the regulation network controlling stress responses by cooperating with some protein kinases or NPR1-related regulatory protein in foxtail millet. Our results could provide new valuable information for comprehensively understanding SibZIP protein structure and their biological functions, the molecular mechanism of drought response, and stress resistance breeding in foxtail millet and related crops.