Genome-Wide Analysis of bZIP Transcription Factors and Expression Patterns in Response to Salt and Drought Stress in Vaccinium corymbosum

Feng, Xinghua; Wang, Chuchu; Jia, Sijin; Wang, Jiaying; Zhou, Lianxia; Song, Yan; Guo, Qingxun; Zhang, Chunyu

doi:10.3390/ijms26020843

Open AccessArticle

Genome-Wide Analysis of bZIP Transcription Factors and Expression Patterns in Response to Salt and Drought Stress in Vaccinium corymbosum

by

Xinghua Feng

^†,

Chuchu Wang

^†,

Sijin Jia

,

Jiaying Wang

,

Lianxia Zhou

,

Yan Song

,

Qingxun Guo

^* and

Chunyu Zhang

^*

Department of Horticulture, College of Plant Science, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(2), 843; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26020843

Submission received: 5 December 2024 / Revised: 17 January 2025 / Accepted: 19 January 2025 / Published: 20 January 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plant Stress Tolerance: 2nd Edition)

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Abstract

The basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors play essential roles in multiple stress responses and have been identified and functionally characterized in many plant species. However, the bZIP family members in blueberry are unclear. In this study, we identified 102 VcbZIP genes in Vaccinium corymbosum. VcbZIPs were divided into 10 groups based on phylogenetic analysis, and each group shared similar motifs, domains, and gene structures. Predictions of cis-regulatory elements in the upstream sequences of VcbZIP genes indicated that VcbZIP proteins are likely involved in phytohormone signaling pathways and abiotic stress responses. Analyses of RNA deep sequencing data showed that 18, 13, and 7 VcbZIP genes were differentially expressed in response to salt, drought, and ABA stress, respectively, for the blueberry cultivar Northland. Ten VcbZIP genes responded to both salt and drought stress, indicating that salt and drought have unique and overlapping signals. Of these genes, VcbZIP1–3 are responsive to salt, drought, and abscisic acid treatments, and their encoded proteins may integrate salt, drought, and ABA signaling. Furthermore, VcbZIP1–3 from group A and VcbZIP83–84 and VcbZIP75 from group S exhibited high or low expression under salt or drought stress and might be important regulators for improving drought or salt tolerance. Pearson correlation analyses revealed that VcbZIP transcription factors may regulate stress-responsive genes to improve drought or salt tolerance in a functionally redundant manner. Our study provides a useful reference for functional analyses of VcbZIP genes and for improving salt and drought stress tolerance in blueberry.

Keywords: VcbZIPs; blueberry; salt stress; drought stress; ABA; RNA-seq

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MDPI and ACS Style

Feng, X.; Wang, C.; Jia, S.; Wang, J.; Zhou, L.; Song, Y.; Guo, Q.; Zhang, C. Genome-Wide Analysis of bZIP Transcription Factors and Expression Patterns in Response to Salt and Drought Stress in Vaccinium corymbosum. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26, 843. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26020843

AMA Style

Feng X, Wang C, Jia S, Wang J, Zhou L, Song Y, Guo Q, Zhang C. Genome-Wide Analysis of bZIP Transcription Factors and Expression Patterns in Response to Salt and Drought Stress in Vaccinium corymbosum. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2025; 26(2):843. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26020843

Chicago/Turabian Style

Feng, Xinghua, Chuchu Wang, Sijin Jia, Jiaying Wang, Lianxia Zhou, Yan Song, Qingxun Guo, and Chunyu Zhang. 2025. "Genome-Wide Analysis of bZIP Transcription Factors and Expression Patterns in Response to Salt and Drought Stress in Vaccinium corymbosum" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 26, no. 2: 843. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26020843

APA Style

Feng, X., Wang, C., Jia, S., Wang, J., Zhou, L., Song, Y., Guo, Q., & Zhang, C. (2025). Genome-Wide Analysis of bZIP Transcription Factors and Expression Patterns in Response to Salt and Drought Stress in Vaccinium corymbosum. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(2), 843. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26020843

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Genome-Wide Analysis of bZIP Transcription Factors and Expression Patterns in Response to Salt and Drought Stress in Vaccinium corymbosum

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