Abstract

Among eukaryotic transcription factors, the basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor is the most widely distributed and the most conserved protein. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is the largest forage crop in the world. However, few studies have evaluated the bZIP family in Alfalfa. In this study, bZIP genes in Alfalfa were identified, with 57 MsbZIPs being distributed into 11 sub-families in the phylogenetic tree. Motif and gene structure analysis revealed that the eleven subfamilies had similar motifs and gene structures, 15 cis-acting elements in MsbZIPs, including eight elements in hormones and four in plant stress resistance; 57 MsbZIPs were localized on 8 chromosomes, among which chr3 and chr4 had more collinearities, and MsbZIPs had more collinearity with the soybean. Tissue specific expression revealed that MsbZIPs were highly expressed in leaves and roots. These findings formed a foundation for further studies on functional characteristics, evolution and biological functions of bZIP transcription factors in alfalfa.

摘要

在真核转录因子中，碱性亮氨酸拉链（bZIP）转录因子是分布最广、最保守的蛋白质。苜蓿（Medicago sativa）是世界上最大的饲料作物。然而，很少有研究评估紫花苜蓿中的 bZIP 家族。在这项研究中，鉴定了紫花苜蓿中的bZIP基因，其中 57 个MsbZIP分布在系统发育树中的 11个亚科中。基序和基因结构分析表明，11个亚科具有相似的基序和基因结构，MsbZIPs中有15个顺式作用元件，其中激素8个，植物抗逆性4个；57个MsbZIP定位在8条染色体上，其中chr3和chr4共线较多，MsbZIPs与大豆共线较多。组织特异性表达表明MsbZIPs在叶和根中高度表达。这些发现为进一步研究紫花苜蓿中bZIP转录因子的功能特征、进化和生物学功能奠定了基础。