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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (6): 154-167.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2024277

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Expression analysis of AP2/ERFs genes in alfalfa regulated by exogenous NO under drought stress

Xiao-Yue WEN1(), Ying ZHAO1,2,3(), Bao-qiang WANG1,2,3, Xian WANG1,4, Xiao-lin ZHU1,4, Yi-zhen WANG1,4, Xiao-hong WEI1,2,3,4   

  1. 1.College of Life Science and Technology,Gansu Agriculture University,Lanzhou 730070,China
    2.Gansu Key Laboratory of Crop Improvement & Germplasm Enhancement,Lanzhou 730070,China
    3.Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science,Lanzhou 730070,China
    4.College of Agronomy,Gansu Agriculture University,Lanzhou 730070,China
  • Received:2024-07-16 Revised:2024-09-05 Online:2025-06-20 Published:2025-04-03
  • Contact: Ying ZHAO

Abstract:

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is the most widely grown forage legume crop in the world. APETALA2/ethylene-responsive (AP2/ERF) transcription factors play a key role in plant resistance to abiotic stress. Nitric oxide (NO), as a signaling molecule in plants, plays an important role in plant drought resistance. In this study, bioinformatics methods were used to identify members of the alfalfa MsAP2/ERF gene family and analyze their response patterns to NO and drought. The MsERF07 gene, which strongly responds to NO regulation, was screened from the MsAP2/ERF gene family for subcellular localization. The results showed that all members of the family contained AP2 domains, and the number of amino acids in their proteins ranged from 176 to 422. Subcellular localization predicted that most proteins were localized in the nucleus. MsERF01 and MsERF11 were closely related and had similar domains. 61.54% of MsAP2/ERF genes contained only exons and also had highly similar conserved motifs. Protein interaction showed that MsERF01 and MsERF11, MsERF05 and MsERF07 were all located at the same node in the protein interaction map. The 13 MsAP2/ERF gene family members were unevenly distributed on 13 chromosomes, and there were 43 cis-regulatory elements related to light response, tissue-specific expression, stress and plant hormones in the promoter sequences of the MsAP2/ERF gene family members. In addition, transcriptome sequencing data analysis of alfalfa showed that the expression of most MsAP2/ERF gene family members increased under the regulation of NO, and further qRT-RCR experimental results showed that exogenous NO promoted the expression of MsAP2/ERF genes under drought stress. The MsERF07 gene was cloned, and subcellular localization results showed that the protein was localized in the nucleus and cell membrane. This study provides a basis for subsequent research on the molecular mechanism of the alfalfa MsERF07 gene action in response to drought stress.

Key words: drought stress, nitric oxide, alfalfa, AP2/ERF