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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (1): 206-222.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2025066

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Identification and expression analysis of EsJRL genes in Elymus sibiricus

Jia-le LIU(), Juan QI(), Wen-liang LI, Xin LU, Qi YUAN, Ming-jie LI, Ao-long ZHANG, Wang-yi DU   

  1. College of Pratacultural Science,Gansu Agricultural University,Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem,Ministry of Education,Gansu Grassland Engineering Laboratory,China-US Center for Grazing Land Ecosystem Sustainability,Lanzhou 730070,China
  • Received:2025-03-04 Revised:2025-04-28 Online:2026-01-20 Published:2025-11-13
  • Contact: Juan QI

Abstract:

The Jacalin-like lectin gene family is widely found in plants. Its members are known to be involved in plant growth and development, responses to adverse environmental conditions, and defense against pests and diseases. Based on the genomedataof Elymus sibiricus, the EsJRL gene family was identified using bioinformatics methods and analyzed to determine the chromosomal distribution, phylogeny, promoter cis-acting elements, and structure of the genes, and the conserved structural domains and physicochemical properties of the putative proteins. The transcript profiles of EsJRL genes in flag leaves at different growth stages and under various stress conditions (exogenous hormones, drought, and low temperature) were analyzed on the basis of RNA-Seq data and by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis. A total of 84 EsJRL genes were identified from the E. sibiricus genome. They were unevenly distributed at both ends of 13 chromosomes, and the length of the coding sequences ranged from 93 to 1574 bp. Conserved motif analysis revealed the presence of Motif 1, Motif 3, and Motif 7 in 83, 86, and 86 protein sequences, respectively, indicative of a high degree of structural conservation among the EsJRL gene family. Intraspecific covariance analyses revealed 39 duplication events (18 pairs of tandem duplicated genes and 21 pairs of segmental duplicated genes) in the E. sibiricus genome, and a Ka/Ks analysis showed that all duplicated genes have been subject to purifying selection during their evolutionary history. Cis-acting element prediction showed that the promoter regions of EsJRL genes were enriched with functional elements related to response to light, hormones, and growth and development. Gene expression analyses indicated that only 33 EsJRL genes were expressed in the spikes of two E. sibiricus lines, XH04 and XH05, at different growth stages. Only 19 EsJRL genes were expressed in both germplasm materials. The RT-qPCR results indicated that most EsJRL genes were significantly up-regulated under gibberellin, abscisic acid, and salicylic acid treatments (P<0.05), and a few EsJRL genes were up-regulated in response to drought and low temperature stress. EsJRL28-2 was significantly down-regulated under drought stress and gibberellin treatment (P<0.05). Only one EsJRL gene, EsJRL43, was significantly down-regulated under low temperature stress (P<0.05).

Key words: Elymus sibiricus, Jacalin-related lectin (JRL), bioinformatics, expression analysis, abiotic stresses