Unraveling the genetics of polyamine metabolism in barley

Authors: TANWAR, UMESH - Adam Mickiewicz University; STOLARSKA, EWELINA - Adam Mickiewicz University; PALUCH-LUBAWA, EWELINA - Adam Mickiewicz University; Mattoo, Autar; ARASIMOWICZ-JELONEK, MAGDALENA - Adam Mickiewicz University; SOBIESZCZUK-NOWICKA, EWA - Adam Mickiewicz University

Submitted to: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/2/2022
Publication Date: 9/6/2022
Citation: Tanwar, U.K., Stolarska, E., Paluch-Lubawa, E., Mattoo, A.K., Arasimowicz-Jelonek, M., Sobieszczuk-Nowicka, E. 2022. Unraveling the genetics of polyamine metabolism in barley. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 221:585-603, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.09.006.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.09.006

Interpretive Summary: There is a need for a deeper understanding of plant biology vis a vis crop improvement related to important biogenic amines (PA) which can be furthered through molecular tools, such as PA omic profiling and genetic engineering to developing novel germplasm. PA metabolic pathway genes were therefore identified and characterized at a whole-genome scale in barley. The results obtained not only extend novel findings but also provide valuable information about Gramineae crop development, their stress physiology, and future prospects for genetic improvement programs. These studies utilizing PAs metabolism in barley are of interest to consumers, producers, scientists and barley industry.

Technical Abstract: Barley, Hordeum vulgare, is unique among crop plants with tremendous importance to agriculture and to science. Polyamines (PAs) are essential for various aspects of plant growth, development, and stress responses in plants. Despite their important roles in biology, studies on PAs metabolic pathways are limited to a few species. We systematically explored the polyamine metabolic pathway genes at genome- scale in barley to better understand their role(s) in plant development and stress adaptation in Gramineae crops. We utilized the bioinformatics and functional genomics tools for genome-wide identification, comprehensive gene features, comparative assessment, evolution, and developmental and stress-related expression analysis of the PA metabolic pathway gene families in barley. In addition, qRT-PCR was employed for gene expression analysis in different barley tissues. We identified 3 SAMDC, 2 ODC, 1 ADC, 1 SPDS, 2 SPMS, 5 CuAO and 7 PAO members of PA metabolic gene family in barley. The tSPMS/ACULIS5-like gene was not found. All the identified genes were distributed on all seven chromosomes of barley except for HvCuAO3 with ChrUn. Gene structure analysis revealed that four genes HvODC1-2, HvPAO5, HvSPDS1 and HvSAMDC2 were intron-less. Gene duplication analysis showed 2 tandemly and 6 segmentally duplicated genes with estimated divergence times of 82.490 MYA and 51.48 MYA, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis and comparative assessment revealed that the PA metabolic pathway is highly conserved in plants. Further analysis resulted in the prediction of nine H. vulgare miRNAs (hvu-miR) target sites, 18 protein-protein interactions and 961 putative CREs in the promoter region. Expression of HvSAMDC3, HvCuAO7, HvPAO4 and HvSPMS1 was observed in every developmental stage while HvPAO2 was upregulated in leaf and spikes under drought stress. Using genomics we provide valuable information about Gramineae crop development, their stress physiology, and future prospects for genetic improvement programs related to PAs. Our results provide a reference for further functional investigation of precise molecular mechanism(s) of polyamine regulation in plants.