Abstract:
GATA transcription factors play important roles in regulating growth, development and various stress responses of plants. To clarify the structure and function of
GATA genes in tobacco, a total of 57
GATA gene family members were identified from the genome of
Nicotiana tabacum using homology searching and domain identification, and these genes were named as
NtGATA1-
NtGATA57. Bioinformatics analyses of gene structure, conservative motifs and phylogeny showed that these genes with variable number of exons (1-17) could be classified into 4 subgroups. Within each subgroup, the amino acid sequences of core domains of each gene were very conservative. Transcriptomics data analysis indicated that most
NtGATA genes expressed at different stages of leaf senescence, and different members of
NtGATAs had different expression patterns. Real-time quantitative PCR found that 10 selected
NtGATA genes had different response degrees to various abiotic stresses, such as cold, salt and drought stresses, which suggested that
GATA gene family members might play important roles in tobacco leaf ripening, senescence and stress responding.