Heat shock responsive genes in Brassicaceae: genome-wide identification, phylogeny, and evolutionary associations within and between genera

Genome. 2024 Dec 1;67(12):464-481. doi: 10.1139/gen-2024-0061. Epub 2024 Oct 16.

Abstract

Heat stress affects the growth and development of Brassicaceae crops. Plant breeders aim to mitigate the effects of heat stress by selecting for heat stress tolerance, but the genes responsible for heat stress in Brassicaceae remain largely unknown. During heat stress, heat shock proteins (HSPs) function as molecular chaperones to aid in protein folding, and heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) serve as transcriptional regulators of HSP expression. We identified 5002 heat shock related genes, including HSPs and HSFs, across 32 genomes in Brassicaceae. Among these, 3347 genes were duplicated, with segmented duplication primarily contributing to their expansion. We identified 466 physical gene clusters, including 240 homogenous clusters and 226 heterogeneous clusters, shedding light on the organization of heat shock related genes. Notably, 37 genes were co-located with published thermotolerance quantitative trait loci, which supports their functional role in conferring heat stress tolerance. This study provides a comprehensive resource for the identification of functional Brassicaceae heat shock related genes, elucidates their clustering and duplication patterns and establishes the genomic foundation for future heat tolerance research. We hypothesise that genetic variants in HSP and HSF genes in certain species have potential for improving heat stress tolerance in Brassicaceae crops.

Keywords: Brassicaceae family; canola; heat shock proteins; heat shock transcription factors; heat stress tolerance.

MeSH terms

  • Brassicaceae* / genetics
  • Evolution, Molecular*
  • Gene Duplication
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Genome, Plant*
  • Heat Shock Transcription Factors* / genetics
  • Heat-Shock Proteins* / genetics
  • Heat-Shock Response* / genetics
  • Multigene Family
  • Phylogeny*
  • Plant Proteins / genetics
  • Quantitative Trait Loci
  • Thermotolerance / genetics

Substances

  • Heat-Shock Proteins
  • Heat Shock Transcription Factors
  • Plant Proteins