Genome-Wide Identification Transcriptional Expression Analysis of E2F-DP Transcription Factor Family in Wheat

Recent studies have shown that a variety of cytokines are involved in cell cycle regulation and that the E2F-DP transcription factor (TF) family is one of the important regulatory links. However, little is known about E2F-DP gene family members and their evolutionary and functional characteristics in plants, especially under stress conditions. Their characterization has not been performed in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum). In this study, 27 E2F-DP genes were identified from the wheat genome (TaE2F-DP). The phylogenetic analysis split these 27 genes into three groups. Five typical conserved motifs of TaE2F-DP protein ranging in length from 28 to 50 amino acid residues had been found. Using chromosome location, we found that the E2F-DP gene family members were distributed on all 21 chromosomes of wheat. Conjoint analysis indicated the association between E2F-DP genes in wheat and its three ancestors (T. urartu, T. dicoccoides, and Aegilops tauschii). Transcriptome analysis showed that in several genes, expression was stress related. To uncover the reason for induction expression patterns of TaE2F-DPs during abiotic and biotic stresses in wheat, the cis-regulatory elements functionally associated with stress responding and hormones in the promoter region of TaE2F-DPs were analyzed. In addition, qRT-PCR results further confirmed that these TaE2F-DP genes are involved in wheat stress response. In summary, this study provided evolutionary and functional information of TaE2F-DP gene family members and revealed the gene expression of different members under different stress treatments. These findings provide comprehensive insights into the E2F-DP family members in wheat and offer candidate E2F-DP genes for further researches on their roles in stress resistance and potential for improving wheat breeding programs.