Genome-wide identification of the UGT gene family in foxtail millet and preliminary functional analysis of SiUGT26 during leaf senescence
- 1Department of Social Services, Shanxi Agricultural University
- 2College of Agronomy, Shanxi Agricultural University
Abstract
Plant uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyze glycosylation, a pivotal biochemical modification essential for diverse metabolic and physiological processes. Foxtail millet ( Setaria italica ), a drought-tolerant C4 cereal crop, serves as an emerging model for studying abiotic stress adaptation. Here, we identified 173 UGT genes ( SiUGT s) in the foxtail millet genome, unevenly distributed across nine chromosomes and classified into 17 phylogenetically distinct subfamilies. Collinearity analysis revealed nine segmental duplicated duplication pairs under purifying selection, highlighting evolutionary conservation. Promoter analysis identified cis-acting elements associated with growth and development, biotic/abiotic stress responses, and hormonal regulation, suggesting functional versatility of SiUGT s. Transcriptome profiling under dark-induced leaf senescence (DIS) revealed 5 up-regulated and 27 down-regulated SiUGT s, implicating their roles in senescence regulation. Subsequently, RT-qPCR validated SiUGT26 as a senescence-responsive gene. Heterologous overexpression of SiUGT26 in Arabidopsis was associated with delayed leaf senescence and enlarged rosettes compared with wild-type plants. Co-expression analysis suggested that SiWRKY71 may be associated with the regulation of SiUGT26 . Collectively, this study provides a genomic resource for the UGT gene family in foxtail millet and identifies SiUGT26 as a senescence-responsive candidate gene. These findings provide a basis for further investigation of UGT-mediated regulation of leaf senescence in foxtail millet.
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BibTeX
@article{liu2026genomewide,
title = {{Genome-wide identification of the UGT gene family in foxtail millet and preliminary functional analysis of SiUGT26 during leaf senescence}},
author = {Feng Liu and Chao Liu and Xiaoxi Zhen},
journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2026.1914896},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1914896/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Genome-wide identification of the UGT gene family in foxtail millet and preliminary functional analysis of SiUGT26 during leaf senescence
AU - Feng Liu
AU - Chao Liu
AU - Xiaoxi Zhen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2026.1914896
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1914896/full
AB - Plant uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyze glycosylation, a pivotal biochemical modification essential for diverse metabolic and physiological processes. Foxtail millet ( Setaria italica ), a drought-tolerant C4 cereal crop, serves as an emerging model for studying abiotic stress adaptation. Here, we identified 173 UGT genes ( SiUGT s) in the foxtail millet genome, unevenly distributed across nine chromosomes and classified into 17 phylogenetically distinct subfamilies. Collinearity analysis revealed nine segmental duplicated duplication pairs under purifying selection, highlighting evolutionary conservation. Promoter analysis identified cis-acting elements associated with growth and development, biotic/abiotic stress responses, and hormonal regulation, suggesting functional versatility of SiUGT s. Transcriptome profiling under dark-induced leaf senescence (DIS) revealed 5 up-regulated and 27 down-regulated SiUGT s, implicating their roles in senescence regulation. Subsequently, RT-qPCR validated SiUGT26 as a senescence-responsive gene. Heterologous overexpression of SiUGT26 in Arabidopsis was associated with delayed leaf senescence and enlarged rosettes compared with wild-type plants. Co-expression analysis suggested that SiWRKY71 may be associated with the regulation of SiUGT26 . Collectively, this study provides a genomic resource for the UGT gene family in foxtail millet and identifies SiUGT26 as a senescence-responsive candidate gene. These findings provide a basis for further investigation of UGT-mediated regulation of leaf senescence in foxtail millet.
SN - 1664-462X
ER -