Affiliation:
1. College of Tea Science and Tea Culture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
2. State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
3. College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Abstract
In plants, Trihelix transcription factors are responsible for regulating growth, development, and reaction to various abiotic stresses. However, their functions in tea plants are not yet fully understood. This study identified a total of 40 complete Trihelix genes in the tea plant genome, which are classified into five clades: GT-1 (5 genes), GT-2 (8 genes), GTγ (2 genes), SH4 (7 genes), and SIP1 (18 genes). The same subfamily exhibits similar gene structures and functional domains. Chromosomal mapping analysis revealed that chromosome 2 has the most significant number of trihelix family members. Promoter analysis identified cis-acting elements in C. sinensis trihelix (CsTH), indicating their potential to respond to various phytohormones and stresses. The expression analysis of eight representative CsTH genes from four subfamilies showed that all CsTHs were expressed in more tissues, and three CsTHs were significantly induced under ABA, NaCl, and drought stress. This suggests that CsTHs plays an essential role in tea plant growth, development, and response to osmotic stress. Furthermore, yeast strains have preliminarily proven that CsTH28, CsTH36, and CsTH39 can confer salt and drought tolerance. Our study provides insights into the phylogenetic relationships and functions of the trihelix transcription factors in tea plants. It also presents new candidate genes for stress-tolerance breeding.
Funder
Major Science and Technology Special Project of Variety Breeding of Zhejiang Province
Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China
National Natural Science Foundation of China
State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products
Subject
Plant Science,Ecology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics