Identification and Characterization of Abiotic Stress Responsive CBL-CIPK Family Genes in <i>Medicago</i>

• Main Authors: Wenxuan Du, Junfeng Yang, Lin Ma, Qian Su, Yongzhen Pang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: <i>Medicago sativa</i>; <i>Medicago truncatula</i>; <i>CBL</i> genes; <i>CIPK</i> genes; abiotic stresses; ABA
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/9/4634

The calcineurin B-like protein (CBL) and CBL-interacting protein kinase (CIPK) play important roles in plant signal transduction and response to abiotic stress. Plants of <i>Medicago</i> genus contain many important forages, and their growth is often affected by a variety of abiotic stresses. However, studies on the CBL and CIPK family member and their function are rare in <i>Medicago</i>. In this study, a total of 23 <i>CBL</i> and 58 <i>CIPK</i> genes were identified from the genome of <i>Medicago sativa</i> as an important forage crop, and <i>Medicaog truncatula</i> as the model plant. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that these <i>CBL</i> and <i>CIPK</i> genes could be classified into five and seven groups, respectively. Moreover, these genes/proteins showed diverse exon-intron organizations, architectures of conserved protein motifs. Many stress-related <i>cis</i>-acting elements were found in their promoter region. In addition, transcriptional analyses showed that these <i>CBL</i> and <i>CIPK</i> genes exhibited distinct expression patterns in various tissues, and in response to drought, salt, and abscisic acid treatments. In particular, the expression levels of <i>MtCIPK2</i> (<i>MsCIPK3</i>), <i>MtCIPK17</i> (<i>MsCIPK11</i>), and <i>MtCIPK18</i> (<i>MsCIPK12</i>) were significantly increased under PEG, NaCl, and ABA treatments. Collectively, our study suggested that <i>CBL</i> and <i>CIPK</i> genes play crucial roles in response to various abiotic stresses in <i>Medicago</i>.