Identification and bioinformatic analysis on rhizomes of Dioscorea zingiberensis WRKY transcription factor / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To identify WRKY genes from the rhizomes of Dioscorea zingiberensis and analyze the protein characteristics and expression level of these genes. Methods: The transcriptional EST database of the rhizomes of D. zingiberensis was used to search the analogs of AtWRKY genes by BLASTn, the full-length open reading frames (ORF) of DzWRKY and its protein characteristics were studied using bioinformatic method, and the expression levels of DzWRKY genes in rhizomes and leaves were detected from transcriptional data of the rhizomes of D. zingiberensis. Results: Twenty-seven DzWRKY transcription factors family genes with full length ORF were isolated from the rhizomes of D. zingiberensis, and two WRKY domains were confirmed in six WRKY genes. All the DzWRKY proteins were predicted as hydrophilic proteins and nucleoproteins with highly conserved WRKY domains. The 27 DzWRKY and 19 AtWRKY proteins were divided into three groups by phylogenetic analysis. All DzWRKY genes showed higher expression level in the leaves compared to the rhizomes, and highly expressed genes were mainly in groups I and IId. DzWRKY proteins exhibited lower sequence identity. Conclusion: The DzWRKY genes are successfully isolated for the first time, which would provide a reference for the study on the roles of WRKY in development and active components biosynthesis of the rhizomes of D. zingiberensis.