Characterization of the heterotrimeric G protein gene families in Triticum aestivum and related species.

This study characterizes the heterotrimeric G protein gene families in Triticum aestivum, their tissue-specific expression patterns during development and in response to biotic and abiotic stress conditions. There are three Gα genes, three Gβ and 12 Gγ genes, totaling 18 genes encoding heterotrimeric G proteins in the hexaploid wheat genome. Each haploid genome of the hexaploid T. aestivum has a single gene encoding the α subunit of the heterotrimeric G protein complex, GA1, a single Gβ and four Gγ genes. Each gene has three homeologous copies in the A, B and D genomes. The physical interaction between the Gβ (Gpb) and two Gγ subunits, Gpg1 and Gpg2, was shown through bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC). The gene expression in response to biotic and abiotic stresses showed both up-regulation and down-regulation of members of the gene families. Gγ2-B and Gγ2-D are significantly upregulated during heat stress, GA1-D is upregulated by cold stress and Gγ1-A and Gγ1-D were upregulated by Fusarium graminearum inoculation in a F. graminearum resistant cultivar. This suggests that these members may play roles in biotic and abiotic signaling pathways and the roles of these genes within these pathways need further investigation. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-022-03156-9. © King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2022.