Comprehensive Analysis of <i>SnRK</i> Gene Family and their Responses to Salt Stress in <i>Eucalyptus grandis</i>

• Main Authors: Yujiao Wang, Huifang Yan, Zhenfei Qiu, Bing Hu, Bingshan Zeng, Chonglu Zhong, Chunjie Fan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-06-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: <i>Eucalyptus grandis</i>; SnRK family; bioinformatics analysis; salt stress; <i>Cis</i>-elements
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/11/2786

The sucrose non-fermentation-related protein kinase (SnRK) is a kind of Ser/Thr protein kinase, which plays a crucial role in plant stress response by phosphorylating the target protein to regulate the interconnection of various signaling pathways. However, little is known about the SnRK family in <i>Eucalyptus grandis</i>. Thirty-four putative SnRK sequences were identified in <i>E. grandis</i> and divided into three subgroups (SnRK1, SnRK2 and SnRK3) based on phylogenetic analysis and the type of domain. Chromosome localization showed that SnRK family members are unevenly distributed in the remaining 10 chromosomes, with the notable exception of chromosome 11. Gene structure analysis reveal that 10 of the 24 <i>SnRK3</i> genes contained no introns. Moreover, conserved motif analyses showed that SnRK sequences belonged to the same subgroup that contained the same motif type of motif. The Ka/Ks ratio of 17 paralogues suggested that the <i>EgrSnRK</i> gene family underwent a purifying selection. The upstream region of <i>EgrSnRK</i> genes enriched with different type and numbers of cis-elements indicated that <i>EgrSnRK</i> genes are likely to play a role in the response to diverse stresses. Quantitative real-time PCR showed that the majority of the <i>SnRK</i> genes were induced by salt treatment. Genome-wide analyses and expression pattern analyses provided further understanding on the function of the SnRK family in the stress response to different environmental salt concentrations.