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. 2024 Jul 30:12:e17808.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.17808. eCollection 2024.

Genome-wide identification and evolution of the SAP gene family in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and expression analysis under salt and drought stress

Chun Zhang  1 , Xiaohong Zhang  2 , Yue Wu  2 , Xiang Li  1 , Chao Du  2 , Na Di  1 , Yang Chen  1
Affiliations

Genome-wide identification and evolution of the SAP gene family in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and expression analysis under salt and drought stress

Chun Zhang et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Stress-associated proteins (SAPs) are known to play an important role in plant responses to abiotic stresses. This study systematically identified members of the sunflower SAP gene family using sunflower genome data. The genes of the sunflower SAP gene family were analyzed using bioinformatic methods, and gene expression was assessed through fluorescence quantification (qRT-PCR) under salt and drought stress. A comprehensive analysis was also performed on the number, structure, collinearity, and phylogeny of seven Compositae species and eight other plant SAP gene families. The sunflower genome was found to have 27 SAP genes, distributed across 14 chromosomes. The evolutionary analysis revealed that the SAP family genes could be divided into three subgroups. Notably, the annuus variety exhibited amplification of the SAP gene for Group 3. Among the Compositae species, C. morifolium demonstrated the highest number of collinearity gene pairs and the closest distance on the phylogenetic tree, suggesting relative conservation in the evolutionary process. An analysis of gene structure revealed that Group 1 exhibited the most complex gene structure, while the majority of HaSAP genes in Group 2 and Group 3 lacked introns. The promoter analysis revealed the presence of cis-acting elements related to ABA, indicating their involvement in stress responses. The expression analysis indicated the potential involvement of 10 genes (HaSAP1, HaSAP3, HaSAP8, HaSAP10, HaSAP15, HaSAP16, HaSAP21, HaSAP22, HaSAP23, and HaSAP26) in sunflower salt tolerance. The expression of these 10 genes were then examined under salt and drought stress using qRT-PCR, and the tissue-specific expression patterns of these 10 genes were also analyzed. HaSAP1, HaSAP21, and HaSAP23 exhibited consistent expression patterns under both salt and drought stress, indicating these genes play a role in both salt tolerance and drought resistance in sunflower. The findings of this study highlight the significant contribution of the SAP gene family to salt tolerance and drought resistance in sunflower.

Keywords: Evolutionary analysis; SAP; Sunflower; qRT-PCR.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Evolutionary tree analysis.
(A) Phylogenetic tree based on 238 SAP protein sequences from seven Compositae species (H. annuus, A. lappa, C. endivia, C. intybus, C. morifolium, L. sativa var. Angustata, and C. tinctorius) and eight other plant species (A. offcinalis, O. sativa, Z. mays, A. thaliana, B. rapa, C. lanatus, S. lycopersicum, and V. vinifera), with different colors indicating different groups. (B) Number of genes in each group of the phylogenetic tree of the seven Compositae species (H. annuus, A. lappa, C. endivia, C. intybus, C. morifolium, L. sativa var. Angustata, and C. tinctorius) and eight other plant species (A. offcinalis, O. sativa, Z. mays, A. thaliana, B. rapa, C. lanatus, S. lycopersicum, and V. vinifera).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Collinearity analysis.
Collinear relationships of SAP genes of H. annuus and A. offcinalis, O. sativa, Z. mays, A. thaliana, B. rapa, C. lanatus, S. lycopersicum, and V. vinifera. The different colors represent the collinear relationships between different plant species.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Collinearity analysis.
Collinearity of SAP genes in seven Compositae species (H. annuus, A. lappa, C. endivia, C. intybus, C. morifolium, L. sativa var. angustata, and C. tinctorius). The different colors represent the collinear relationships between different plant species.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Phylogenetic tree, gene structure, and motif analysis of the SAP family in seven Compositae plants (H. annuus, A. lappa, C. endivia, C. intybus, C. morifolium, L. sativa var. angustata, and C. tinctorius).
Figure 5
Figure 5. The number of cis-acting elements in the promoter region of the HaSAP gene, including the type and number of cis-acting elements involved in stress response and hormone response.
Figure 6
Figure 6. RNA-seq expression analysis of the HaSAP genes under salt stress conditions.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Analysis of the expression pattern of the HaSAP gene under salt stress.
The error bars represent the mean ± SEs of the three replicates. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
Figure 8
Figure 8. The expression pattern of the HaSAP gene was analyzed under drought stress.
The error bars represent the mean ± SEs of the three replicates. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
Figure 9
Figure 9. Tissue-specific expression analysis of the HaSAP gene.
The error bars represent the mean ± SEs of the three replicates. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
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