Genome-wide identification and expression profiles of ERF subfamily transcription factors in Zea mays

Lidong Hao; Shubing Shi; Haibin Guo; Ming Li; Pan Hu; Yadong Wei; Yanfei Feng

doi:10.7717/peerj.9551

Genome-wide identification and expression profiles of ERF subfamily transcription factors in Zea mays

PeerJ. 2020 Jul 17:8:e9551. doi: 10.7717/peerj.9551. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Lidong Hao^{1

2}, Shubing Shi¹, Haibin Guo², Ming Li³, Pan Hu², Yadong Wei¹, Yanfei Feng²

Affiliations

¹ College of Agriculture, Xinjiang Agriculture University, Urumqi, China.
² College of Agriculture and Hydraulic Engineering, Sui Hua University, Suihua, China.
³ School of Economics and Management, Sui Hua University, Suihua, China.

Abstract

The Ethylene-Response Factor (ERF) subfamily transcription factors (TFs) belong to the APETALA2/Ethylene-Responsive Factor (AP2/ERF) superfamily and play a vital role in plant growth and development. However, identification and analysis of the ERF subfamily genes in maize have not yet been performed at genome-wide level. In this study, a total of 76 ERF subfamily TFs were identified and were found to be unevenly distributed on the maize chromosomes. These maize ERF (ZmERF) TFs were classified into six groups, namely groups B1 to B6, based on phylogenetic analysis. Synteny analysis showed that 50, 54, and 58 of the ZmERF genes were orthologous to those in rice, Brachypodium, and Sorghum, respectively. Cis-element analysis showed that elements related to plant growth and development, hormones, and abiotic stress were identified in the promoter region of ZmERF genes. Expression profiles suggested that ZmERF genes might participate in plant development and in response to salinity and drought stresses. Our findings lay a foundation and provide clues for understanding the biological functions of ERF TFs in maize.

Keywords: Abiotic stress; ERF; Expression profiles; Genome-wide; Maize.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Basic scientific research business fee youth project of provincial colleges and universities in Heilongjiang Province (KYYWF10236180111); the Excellent innovation team construction project of basic scientific research business cost of colleges and universities of Heilongjiang Province (KYYWF10236190302); and the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (QC2017023). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.