Identification and prediction of abiotic stress responsive transcription factors involved in abiotic stress signaling in soybean.

Abiotic stresses such as extreme temperature, drought, high salinity, cold and waterlogging often result in significant losses to the yields of economically important crops such as soybean (Glycine max L.). Transcription factors (TFs) which bind to DNA through specific cis-regulatory sequences either activate or repress gene transcription have been reported to act as control switches in stress signaling. Recent completion of the soybean genomic sequence has open wide opportunities for large-scale identification and annotations of regulatory TFs in soybean for functional studies. Within the soybean genome, we identified 5,035 TF models which grouped into 61 families. Detailed annotations of soybean TF genes can be accessed at SoybeanTFDB (soybeantfdb.psc.riken.jp). Moreover, we have reported a new idea of high throughput prediction and selection of abiotic stress responsive TFs based on the existence of known stress responsive cis-element(s) located in the promoter regions of respective TFs and GO annotations. We, therefore, have provided a basic platform for the genome-wide analysis of regulatory mechanisms underlying abiotic stress responses and a reliable tool for prediction and selection of stress responsive TFs for further functional studies and genetic engineering.