Phylogenomic Expression Analysis of Flooding Stress Marker Gene Families in Soybean Roots Under Hypoxia

Flooding is one of the abiotic stresses of great importance to world agriculture. Among the most immediate and foreseeable effects of global climate change is increasing the frequency of El Niño, and related to this, the increased intensity of flooding. The excess of water in the soil promotes oxygen deficiency, making a hypoxic or anoxic rhizosphere. Soybean is one of many plant species that have restrictions on their cultivation in these conditions. Little is known about phylogenetic organization and expression profile of flooding stress marker gene families in soybean. Using flooding sensitive (BR 4) and flooding tolerant (Embrapa 45) soybean cultivars this work aimed to analyze phylogenomic expression of eight flooding stress marker gene families in soybean roots under hypoxia. The Phylogenetic analysis were done based on predicted genes from Phytozome (version 1.0), and the gene expression analyses were conducted in roots using RT-qPCR and RNA-Seq (Hi Seq 2000, Illumina) tools. There was a strong correlation between the RT-qPCR and RNA-Seq data. Distinct expression patterns clustered in the phylogenetic analysis indicating redundant and new functions across members of the gene families. This study provides insights into the understanding what members of gene families mainly govern the responses in soybean under flooding stress. Detailed results will be presented and discussed. The research is supported by Embrapa.