ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional and Applied Plant Genomics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1592211
This article is part of the Research TopicEvolutionary Adaptations of Plant Genes: A Comprehensive Study of Phylogenomics, Epigenetic Changes, and Protein DynamicsView all 10 articles
Characterization and Expression Analysis of Transcription Factors in Spartina alterniflora Unveil Their Critical Roles in Salt Stress Resistance
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan Province, China
- 2Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
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Transcription factors (TFs) are essential regulators of gene expression, orchestrating plant growth, development, and responses to environmental stress. Spartina alterniflora, a halophytic species renowned for its exceptional salt resistance, provides an ideal model for investigating the regulatory mechanisms underlying salt tolerance.Here, we present a comprehensive genome-wide identification and characterization of TFs in S. alterniflora. A total of 5,004 TFs were identified and classified into 56 families, with bHLH, MYB, NAC, and ERF being the most abundant. Gene structure analysis revealed an average of 5.05 exons per TF, with significant variation in exon number, coding sequence length, and GC content across families, reflecting their structural and functional diversity. Evolutionary analysis indicated that S. alterniflora TFs have undergone gene duplication events, with purifying selection (Ka/Ks < 1) shaping their evolution. Tissue-specific expression analysis revealed distinct TF expression patterns across roots, stems, leaves, inflorescences, and seeds, underscoring their roles in organogenesis. Under salt stress, 800 TFs exhibited differential expression, with MYB, bHLH, bZIP, ERF, and NAC families being the most responsive, suggesting their involvement in ion homeostasis, osmoregulation, and antioxidant defense. These findings provide key insights into the transcriptional regulation of salt resistance in S. alterniflora, offering valuable genetic targets for enhancing crop resilience to salinity.
Keywords: Expression patterns, genome-wide, salt stress, Spartina alterniflora, transcription factor
Received: 12 Mar 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jiang, Chen, Gao, Geng, Shu, Gao and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Huihui Li, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
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